Saturday, September 22, 2012
Mrs. Bennett's Class
Mady recently lost a tooth and got $2 from the tooth fairy. The best place to take a 6 year old with money burning a hole in her pocket is the Dollar Store. While there she found a huge teacher section and decided to use her money (and a little of mine) to get things to make her very own classroom. She is an excellent teacher. She is stern and efficient while also being patient and sweet. Here are some pics. Only in this school can you come in your underwear ;)
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
The End
So I just read Mike Nelson's report on the melting of the polar ice caps- add to that a picture of my friend in front of Mayan calendar with a post that says "don't go to work on 12/21/12 cuz that will suck" and my obsession with the new show Dooms Day Preppers and now you have a bit of paranoia. I decided just now though to be positive...... I'm not going on a diet or paying off my student loans until 12/22/12!
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Parents Vs. DINKS
Lately I've been finding myself questioning how people without kids act around us or our schedule. Sometimes i get annoyed but then it usually makes me laugh. How easily I have forgotten those easy days before I had kids. Had I known then what I know now u would have- (no! Not gone without kids) I would have enjoyed those quiet moments more. Here is one of my many lists comparing how us parents think vs how DINKS (double income no kids) think.
Traffic: DINK "I hate traffic! I just wanna get home" US "I hope there's some traffic so I can take my time getting home and have some quiet time"
7:00pm: DINK "what should we do for dinner after this nice glass of wine? the new sushi restaurant or order in?"
US "oh God it's only 7? I have a whole hour before I can get these monsters to bed and watch something other than Mickey Mouse Clubhouse or Spongebob!"
7:00am- DINKS "oh I think I'll watch the news and then go for a jog before having a nice long shower"
US "OMG I have to pee but they are still miraculously asleep so I refuse to move from this spot in case I might accidentally wake someone up".
DINKS- "my dogs are the people I love most in the world"
US- "I never knew I could love (a real) person so much, I could sit here and stare at him/her for hours"
I would say parents are the lucky ones even with all the craziness and crying I would take it any day over a jog and a glass of wine. After all that's what long weekends away while the kids are with Grandma are for.
Traffic: DINK "I hate traffic! I just wanna get home" US "I hope there's some traffic so I can take my time getting home and have some quiet time"
7:00pm: DINK "what should we do for dinner after this nice glass of wine? the new sushi restaurant or order in?"
US "oh God it's only 7? I have a whole hour before I can get these monsters to bed and watch something other than Mickey Mouse Clubhouse or Spongebob!"
7:00am- DINKS "oh I think I'll watch the news and then go for a jog before having a nice long shower"
US "OMG I have to pee but they are still miraculously asleep so I refuse to move from this spot in case I might accidentally wake someone up".
DINKS- "my dogs are the people I love most in the world"
US- "I never knew I could love (a real) person so much, I could sit here and stare at him/her for hours"
I would say parents are the lucky ones even with all the craziness and crying I would take it any day over a jog and a glass of wine. After all that's what long weekends away while the kids are with Grandma are for.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
My Mommy Brain
The other day i was sitting by the pool with Joe as the kids are swimming. I was having my usual thoughts but this time I was saying them out loud to Joe. I soon realized he was looking at me like I was crazy. Then I realized the poor guy is a dad and a man so he is lost. Here's why.
As any of you who are mothers know it is is hard work to be a mommy. There is a lot of things to juggle and balance. There are messes to clean, dishes to do, errands to run, preschool to register for and do many other things. Lately though I've realized I have a lot of mommy worries. Some of them seem completely irrelevant and silly while others are deep. Here are just a few. If you have some of this pleae feel free to post yours so we can all feel normal!
- Do they have enough sunscreen on? Is it expired? When should I re-apply?
- are they getting enough veggies? Fruits? Do they eat too many processed foods? Should I only buy organic, non GMO foods? Can I afford that?
- Are they reading for the right amount if time each day? Is Mady reading at the right level? Is she up to par in school? Does she have enough friends? Is she confident?
- Do I play with them enough? Do I play with them too much?
- Do they watch appropriate shows for their age? Do they watch too much TV?
- Which activities should I sign them up for? How many is too many activities? Will they be we'll rounded enough?
- Will we be able to afford college?
- Will we be able to afford Disney World before they are too old to enjoy it? What time of year should we go to DW?
- Do they know they are loved? Am I smothering them? Will Noah be a mamma's boy?
- Are they spoiled? Do they need more toys? Are they deprived?
- Is Noah playing too close to the stairs? Is that bruise on his head something to worry about? What is this lump on her side? How long before you run them to the E.R. in any given case?
Anyway you get the point. There is of course much more and don't even get me started on this whole end of the world thing...we'll save that for another blog.
Our minds are always going. As long as we know in our hearts we are doing the best we can. Oh and in the words of my own mom "As long as everyone gets out alive that's all that matters".
As any of you who are mothers know it is is hard work to be a mommy. There is a lot of things to juggle and balance. There are messes to clean, dishes to do, errands to run, preschool to register for and do many other things. Lately though I've realized I have a lot of mommy worries. Some of them seem completely irrelevant and silly while others are deep. Here are just a few. If you have some of this pleae feel free to post yours so we can all feel normal!
- Do they have enough sunscreen on? Is it expired? When should I re-apply?
- are they getting enough veggies? Fruits? Do they eat too many processed foods? Should I only buy organic, non GMO foods? Can I afford that?
- Are they reading for the right amount if time each day? Is Mady reading at the right level? Is she up to par in school? Does she have enough friends? Is she confident?
- Do I play with them enough? Do I play with them too much?
- Do they watch appropriate shows for their age? Do they watch too much TV?
- Which activities should I sign them up for? How many is too many activities? Will they be we'll rounded enough?
- Will we be able to afford college?
- Will we be able to afford Disney World before they are too old to enjoy it? What time of year should we go to DW?
- Do they know they are loved? Am I smothering them? Will Noah be a mamma's boy?
- Are they spoiled? Do they need more toys? Are they deprived?
- Is Noah playing too close to the stairs? Is that bruise on his head something to worry about? What is this lump on her side? How long before you run them to the E.R. in any given case?
Anyway you get the point. There is of course much more and don't even get me started on this whole end of the world thing...we'll save that for another blog.
Our minds are always going. As long as we know in our hearts we are doing the best we can. Oh and in the words of my own mom "As long as everyone gets out alive that's all that matters".
Big News
I haven't blogged in awhile. A lot of times I wonder if anyone is even reading them or if this is just a diary. I have gotten some really nice feedback lately so I am going to try an keep up with it.So onto the big news. We have made the final decision to move back to Colorado in August. For several reasons.
A major deciding factor is that when we decided to move it was all dependant on Joe getting a good job in order to afford living here. He got a great job initially with a small restaurant in Boston that had just expanded to New York. After 60 days working there however, they closed the doors to the Wall Street restaurant and laid off 30 people including Joe. We decided not to get discouraged and he was out on the job hunt immediately. By the first week of January he was offered another great job at a high end retirement community that was expanding. Everything was still on for us to come from Colorado. Unfortunately another 60 days later he was laid off due to over hiring and a stall in construction. Since that time he has been unable to find anything comparable. Obviously we need a (good) income to survive as a family but that was not the final reason for our move.
It's really been no secret that I have been struggling with our move. My sister had me re-read the first entry from the morning after I moved and she said it was sad because it's so far from what I have been feeling in the past couple months. It is.
I made the decision to move here because I thought it would be a good place to raise our children around his big family. It sounds hokey butt I wanted the "Village" feeling. Soon after we got here we realized that his family is not as big as we remember when you are here day to day. When we would visit it would be a big to-do. There would be family in from Ohio and Florida and other people would visit. We have had a piece of that this Summer but it not like that all the time. I guess we were naive. I have really enjoyed seeing the kids with the family here especially my mother in law, Sheila.
Finally, we have just come to the conclusion that we consider Colorado to be home. We miss our friends and family dearly. We loved the school the kids went to and we miss the friends and teachers from Dry Creek Elementary.
The kids have done really well with the move here and we pray they do just as well with the move back. It has taken a toll on Joe and I though and our hope is that we can get back to the life we loved in Colorado. I do not regret the decision to move here. I have learned a lot about what I want and what I can do without. We know that if we didn't move here we would continue to wonder for years "What if...". For now we are back to my parent's basement until we find permanent work and a place of our own. Oh boy!!!
A major deciding factor is that when we decided to move it was all dependant on Joe getting a good job in order to afford living here. He got a great job initially with a small restaurant in Boston that had just expanded to New York. After 60 days working there however, they closed the doors to the Wall Street restaurant and laid off 30 people including Joe. We decided not to get discouraged and he was out on the job hunt immediately. By the first week of January he was offered another great job at a high end retirement community that was expanding. Everything was still on for us to come from Colorado. Unfortunately another 60 days later he was laid off due to over hiring and a stall in construction. Since that time he has been unable to find anything comparable. Obviously we need a (good) income to survive as a family but that was not the final reason for our move.
It's really been no secret that I have been struggling with our move. My sister had me re-read the first entry from the morning after I moved and she said it was sad because it's so far from what I have been feeling in the past couple months. It is.
I made the decision to move here because I thought it would be a good place to raise our children around his big family. It sounds hokey butt I wanted the "Village" feeling. Soon after we got here we realized that his family is not as big as we remember when you are here day to day. When we would visit it would be a big to-do. There would be family in from Ohio and Florida and other people would visit. We have had a piece of that this Summer but it not like that all the time. I guess we were naive. I have really enjoyed seeing the kids with the family here especially my mother in law, Sheila.
Finally, we have just come to the conclusion that we consider Colorado to be home. We miss our friends and family dearly. We loved the school the kids went to and we miss the friends and teachers from Dry Creek Elementary.
The kids have done really well with the move here and we pray they do just as well with the move back. It has taken a toll on Joe and I though and our hope is that we can get back to the life we loved in Colorado. I do not regret the decision to move here. I have learned a lot about what I want and what I can do without. We know that if we didn't move here we would continue to wonder for years "What if...". For now we are back to my parent's basement until we find permanent work and a place of our own. Oh boy!!!
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Camp Out
Over Memorial Day weekend we got the chance to go camping with some really great people. I knew Annmarie from when I lived here before and we always got along great .Turns out her husband, Matt is also a fun guy and they have a 4 year old son who the kids had a great time with. Here are some pics from our weekend. Hopefully this is the only the beginning of many great weekends together!
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| Noah and Matthew eating chips |
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| Their weekend pet turtle |
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| Aw, cute dirty camping couple ;) |
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| Annmarie getting a splinter out but it looks like she's reading her palm ;) |
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| the kids in the pool |
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| Mady's first lost tooth |
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| Mr. Nature |
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| Mady and Matthew (He had a crush on her- so cute) |
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| Noah's new friend Bently. He LOVED the dogs! |
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| Only kid who falls asleep on a wagon ride |
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| Just before he fell asleep |
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| Wagon ride |
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| In the pool with Daddy |
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| They kept putting their chairs around the turtles home and staring at it for long periods of time- so funny |
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| The turtle by the pond |
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| Noah fishing |
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| Noah and his fishing wing man Matthew |
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| Looking for turtles and frogs at the pond |
To Be or not To Be (the tooth fairy)
BIG NEWS! Mady lost her very first tooth! It has been lose for a couple of weeks now and we wondered if it would ever come out. At the same time we hoped it would take awhile- for 2 reasons 1. that is the beginning of her last bit of babyness going away and 2. She was completely inexplicably freaked out by the whole entire thing! I'm not sure why she decided it was horrible but when she discovered it was lose she completely lost it! She was crying and saying "I'm scared Mommy, I don't want my tooth to fall out". I thought maybe it was the pain but she said no. Then I thought it might be that she was afraid of the Tooth Fairy. Who wouldn't be afraid of a stranger walking through your room in the middle of the night while you sleep (wings or not). Plus thanks to Dwayne Johnson and Larry the Cable Guy the tooth fairy is now seen as a big burly weird guy- that's even weirder. Either way the day came. We were camping and she took a bite of her watermelon and I noticed there was a blank spot in her teeth. I told her to stop chewing and was looking everywhere for the tooth. I thought she swallowed it. That would make her totally freak out! Turns out it was just on the napkin (Thank you God!).
So now it was time to put it under her pillow. She decided she didn't want to do it on the first night even though we were at home. The next night it was time. She wanted to put it under her pillow by itself. I'm sure that would have been fine but I was worried it would get lost and the "Tooth Fairy" wouldn't be able to find it in the dark. I insisted we put it in a small jewelry box and then put it under the pillow, then she went to sleep.
The time came for the "Tooth Fairy" to do his/her job. Joe and I discussed who should do it but I insisted I would do it because he's not graceful and I was afraid he would mess something up or wake her up- and then the magic would be ruined. It's important to me that all the magic makers (Santa, Easter bunny, Tooth Fairy) stay real for as long as possible. At least Santa and the Easter Bunny hide things in the living room. This is different.
I sneaked into her room where it is completely dark. I go to the side of her bed- I can't even see her face. I am listening to see if she is making "sleeping sounds" whatever that is. It doesn't seem to me that she is. Then I started to imagine she was awake and hearing all this and thinking it was the creepy Tooth Fairy HESHE but she was trying to pretend she was sleeping so I panicked. I then decide its good idea to crawl into bed with her like I'm (her mother, not the creepy HESHE) going to cuddle and go to sleep with her. I lay down and put one arm under the pillow- gracefully. She immediately cuddles up and gives me a kiss- she was awake- crap! Now I imagine that if she feels me playing under her pillow she will surely know that it's a scam so I lay there for at least 10 minutes (while my arm falls asleep still holding a $5 bill (it's the first tooth)) until I think she's asleep-Then with my one arm I place the $5 bill in just the right position and then I start searching for the jewelry box. It's small so it's not that obvious. I search and search and can't find it. Crap. Now I decide to move to the other side of her where the box was actually placed. I get there but then she turns around and cuddles up again. Another 10-15 min go by before I can start fiddling under the pillow again. I finally found the box and with one hand now I have to get it open and get the tooth out- what was I thinking with that dumb box. I finally get it but now I'm afraid I will wake her up if I get up so I wait a little longer. Then I fall asleep with the tiny tooth in my fingers. When I wake up a few minutes later, the tooth is gone again. Crap. Eventually I found it and get out of the room without waking her up. Tragedy averted. She woke up totally excited for her $5 bucks and with no idea what I just went through. I hope next time I have a better plan or I will just let Joe do it.
So now it was time to put it under her pillow. She decided she didn't want to do it on the first night even though we were at home. The next night it was time. She wanted to put it under her pillow by itself. I'm sure that would have been fine but I was worried it would get lost and the "Tooth Fairy" wouldn't be able to find it in the dark. I insisted we put it in a small jewelry box and then put it under the pillow, then she went to sleep.
The time came for the "Tooth Fairy" to do his/her job. Joe and I discussed who should do it but I insisted I would do it because he's not graceful and I was afraid he would mess something up or wake her up- and then the magic would be ruined. It's important to me that all the magic makers (Santa, Easter bunny, Tooth Fairy) stay real for as long as possible. At least Santa and the Easter Bunny hide things in the living room. This is different.
I sneaked into her room where it is completely dark. I go to the side of her bed- I can't even see her face. I am listening to see if she is making "sleeping sounds" whatever that is. It doesn't seem to me that she is. Then I started to imagine she was awake and hearing all this and thinking it was the creepy Tooth Fairy HESHE but she was trying to pretend she was sleeping so I panicked. I then decide its good idea to crawl into bed with her like I'm (her mother, not the creepy HESHE) going to cuddle and go to sleep with her. I lay down and put one arm under the pillow- gracefully. She immediately cuddles up and gives me a kiss- she was awake- crap! Now I imagine that if she feels me playing under her pillow she will surely know that it's a scam so I lay there for at least 10 minutes (while my arm falls asleep still holding a $5 bill (it's the first tooth)) until I think she's asleep-Then with my one arm I place the $5 bill in just the right position and then I start searching for the jewelry box. It's small so it's not that obvious. I search and search and can't find it. Crap. Now I decide to move to the other side of her where the box was actually placed. I get there but then she turns around and cuddles up again. Another 10-15 min go by before I can start fiddling under the pillow again. I finally found the box and with one hand now I have to get it open and get the tooth out- what was I thinking with that dumb box. I finally get it but now I'm afraid I will wake her up if I get up so I wait a little longer. Then I fall asleep with the tiny tooth in my fingers. When I wake up a few minutes later, the tooth is gone again. Crap. Eventually I found it and get out of the room without waking her up. Tragedy averted. She woke up totally excited for her $5 bucks and with no idea what I just went through. I hope next time I have a better plan or I will just let Joe do it.
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