There are two things I can tell my boys that get their 'hyper kid mode' activated. 1: We're going to the playground, and 2: We're having a playdate. When either of these statements reach their tiny ears, it's as if I just pumped them with a gallon of sugar on top of 2 liters of caffeine while letting them eat all their halloween and easter candy at the same time. I really should invest in some noise canceling headphones to wear when I tell them this.
Playgrounds really are an ingenious invention. There's so much to climb on, slide down, swing around to keep the little ones interested while at the same time they're getting more than a daily does of exercise to tire them out enough to go to sleep that night without a fight! They can yell and scream at the top of their lungs without puncturing my ear drums and climb to their hearts content without getting into trouble.
We have a really nice playground less than five minutes from our house. Instead of those annoying little rocks that get in shoes and flip flops, they put in this foamy stuff that's sturdy enough to handle the most destructive toddlers but soft enough to cut injuries down. The play equipment includes three big slides for the big kids or daring toddlers, several small slides for the scared big kids or more timid toddlers, one twisty slide, an arched bridge, a hanging bridge, ladders, swings, monkey bars, and a few little interactive pieces to engage all types of kids. There's also a walking trail, a frisbee golf course, a soccer field and an outdoor amphitheater, plus three pavilions with picnic tables and grills.
The only time I try to avoid going is right after school. That's when a lot of parents go and after going there a few times as soon as school lets out I see why. The playground is right beside the school. In fact you can access the playground from the carpool line. When I get there and let loose the children, I notice that sitting under the pavilion are several moms who look like I feel. "I really don't want to take these kids home yet." Because the kids have been in school all day, building up energy, and noise. As I sit down to watch my kids zoom around the playground with all the other little kids like so many energizer bunnies on batteries that never run out, it is inevitable to hear one of those poor looking parents say "I wish I had their energy." I reluctantly join the sitting moms wondering if I look as tired as they do. Sometimes, just to escape the feeling of being old, I'll get out there and push the boys on the swings, or chase them around, or help them on the monkey bars. But it doesn't last long, I just can't keep up with them for long.
Once I see the kids start slowing down some, I decide it's time to go home. Of course I'm met with pleas of "I don't want to go!" "Just ten more minutes! Five more minutes? Two more minutes?" But I drag them to the car, get them in and get them home. And as predicted, they usually pass out earlier than normal at bedtime.
Playdates, I believe, are more for the parents than the kids. At least for me and my best friend they are. See, my husband is usually the only one to help me with the kids here at home, and he's great with them, playing with them, helping them, and giving me time to myself. And because he works during the day and I'm a stay at home mom, I'm usually all alone with them during the day. So playdates are nice break for me.
Me and Katie have known each other since high school, but having kids at the same time really brought us closer together. You know how you see those sayings "You need that one person you can be childish and stupid with"? Well, that's what we are when we get together. Her two kids and my two kids are the same age, and have enjoyed playing together since they were babies. We've gone through the pregnancies, the newborn stages, the toddler years and now kindergarten together, keeping each other sane by one upping each other on the craziness the kids can bring to our lives.
We frequently enjoy playdates, swapping out turns at each others houses. The excitement level is maxed out by both me and the boys as we prepare for playdate day. The past few playdates have taken place at my house and from the time the kids get up until Lily and Keefer get here, I hear "Are they on their way? When will they be here? Are they here yet?" while I'm texting Katie, "Are you on your way? When will you be here? Why aren't you here yet?" Once I get the confirmation text that they are in the car on the way, my kids can be found at the back door with their faces pressed against the glass, watching. I try to refrain myself from pressing my face against the glass, I mean, I am almost 30, and that's just one more smudge to clean when it's all over.
So after about fifteen minutes from her text, the drive up. All four kids go nuts. Connor and Kenny start jumping up and down, "THEY'RE HERE! THEY'RE HERE!" while Lily and Keefer bolt from the car and run to the back door. Shoes and socks barely get off feet before the kids are running back to the bedroom to start work on playing with all the toys while me and Katie look at each other with that crazed look in our eye, "It's playdate day! I'm not by myself with the kids!"
The entire day is spent in hysterical laughter, snack food overload, and stupid, childish, arguments. The kids usually just play. By the end of the day, the kids are well worn out and Katie is loading them up in the car. We'll stand there for ten minutes talking, cause neither of us are ready for the playdate to be over.
Summer time is always great because then we get to combine both worlds. Playdates at the playground! We're just waiting for the weather to get warmer.
So between playgrounds and playdates, I can usually give my kids a good day at least once in a while. Now that it's warming up again, I usually get asked everyday after school if we can go to the park. And with summer break coming, playdates will become a little more frequent and longer.
Monday, April 7, 2014
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Three Generation of Godzilla
When I was fourteen, Godzilla premiered in theaters. You know the one, with Matthew Broderick and Hank Azaria. It was an awesome creature feature in its day, in my opinion. After it came out on DVD my dad bought it. I remember that night because it was the first movie we watched on our brand new surround sound system. Of course it was epic! We felt like we were back in the theater. The rain was pouring all around us, and at the end, when Godzilla's heart was slowing down, our whole house shook with every thump.
Well, after that, my dad thought it would be just as awesome to introduce my sister and I to the Godzilla he grew up with. You know the one, from the 50's and I think he had one from the 70's too. He found them on VHS and brought them home. He was so excited. So we sat down, pressed play and started attaching. Needless to say, after watching the new movie, the old ones looked a little......different. Being teenagers, my sister and I started laughing at them. After all, we had just watched a very realistic Godzilla terrorize New York. I think we hurt my dad's feelings, whenever we talk about it now, his bottom lip pokes out.
So, flash forward almost twenty years and now my generations Godzilla is outdated. Some of the graphics are laughable compared to the newest special effects Hollywood is rolling out. So when Connor came bringing Godzilla to me asking to watch it, I didn't know whether to laugh or cringe, because I suddenly found myself in my Daddy's place. (I had to stop the movie, having forgotten how much bad language was in it. I didn't want Connor hearing it or repeating it. He'll have to wait until he's a little older.)
But just having my child watch Godzilla made me think about when I watched my Dad's Godzilla. There is a new version of Godzilla about to premier in theaters. I'm sure it will make the 1998 Godzilla look about as silly as the 50's Godzilla looked to us.
Well, after that, my dad thought it would be just as awesome to introduce my sister and I to the Godzilla he grew up with. You know the one, from the 50's and I think he had one from the 70's too. He found them on VHS and brought them home. He was so excited. So we sat down, pressed play and started attaching. Needless to say, after watching the new movie, the old ones looked a little......different. Being teenagers, my sister and I started laughing at them. After all, we had just watched a very realistic Godzilla terrorize New York. I think we hurt my dad's feelings, whenever we talk about it now, his bottom lip pokes out.
So, flash forward almost twenty years and now my generations Godzilla is outdated. Some of the graphics are laughable compared to the newest special effects Hollywood is rolling out. So when Connor came bringing Godzilla to me asking to watch it, I didn't know whether to laugh or cringe, because I suddenly found myself in my Daddy's place. (I had to stop the movie, having forgotten how much bad language was in it. I didn't want Connor hearing it or repeating it. He'll have to wait until he's a little older.)
But just having my child watch Godzilla made me think about when I watched my Dad's Godzilla. There is a new version of Godzilla about to premier in theaters. I'm sure it will make the 1998 Godzilla look about as silly as the 50's Godzilla looked to us.
Monday, January 6, 2014
Bedtime or How I Torture My Children
Every parent will agree with me, bedtime for children is one of the highlights of the day. Or if you've had a rough day, or the kids have been terrors all day, it is THE highlight of the day. But somehow bedtime becomes the hardest part of the day.
Children believe this is a conspiracy by parents to make them miss out on all the best stuff. They must think that once they're asleep, Mom and Dad are going to pull out these cool things to play with, all the candy and junk food to eat, and have a blast without the kids. At least, that's what I used to think when my parents put me to bed. Truth is, we're just so exhausted from the day, once the kids are asleep, we pass out too.
Bedtime at our house can turn into a circus. It usually starts around the time it starts getting dark. The oldest one starts, "I want to stay up." "Hey momma, let's have a movie night." "I'm not sleepy yet." "Since I don't have school in the morning, how about I stay up tonight and sleep late in the morning." (By the way all you new parents or people thinking about having kids, the term "sleep in" no longer applies, you might get to sleep until 7:30, if you're very lucky.)
Once I actually announce "Bedtime" to the kiddos, they run in different directions. The oldest runs to his room and picks out a stack of books that would take two hours to read while the youngest runs to our room yelling "Daddy's bed! Daddy's bed! Daddy's bed!" I firmly tell Connor to pick ONE book while grabbing Kenny off our bed. That's when the tears begin. "But I want to read two!" "NO! DADDY'S BED!"
Here lately I've been able to bribe Kenny back to his and Connor's room by saying we're reading a book. Then Kenny wants to read One Foot, Two Feet, while Connor wants to read How The Grinch Stole Christmas. We literally have hundreds of books for the kids as we've signed them both up for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library when they were born, so the fact that they pick out the same book night after night can get frustrating. But I read them, over...and over...and over.
So after finally settling on a book, we sit down on Kenny's bed and I read to them, doing all the voices, playing up the dramatic parts, and having Kenny point out different things from the pages. After this Connor hops up into his bed yelling "Cover me up! I want a super kiss and super hug!"
Let me just pause here and explain the super kiss and super hug. When Connor was about 3, I would kiss him good night and before I could leave the room, he'd wipe his kiss off and say I had to kiss him again. After a couple of nights of kissing him over and over (which I never get tired of doing, unless it's 8pm and I've spent all day chasing him around) I told him I was going to give him the super duper mommy kiss that could never ever be wiped off no matter how much he wiped his face. I then grabbed his face with both hands and planted a kiss on his cheek that lasted a good minute, with me making all kinds of kissy sounds. Then I had to do the same thing with the hugs. After that, I could give him one big kiss and the leave the room. So now every night, both boys want the super kiss and super hug.
Ok, back to our bedtime routine. So Connor is in his bed asking for the super kiss and super hug. I'm still at Kenny's bed, trying to get him to be still long enough for me to cover him up, because it's this time that he realizes the whole reading a book thing was a rouse to get him into his bed. Now he starts hollering for Daddy's bed again. After a few tries of tucking him in, I give up on covering him up right then and I order him to stay in that bed.
I turn to Connor, pull the covers up around him, give him his super kiss and super hug and tell him I love him. I then turn back around just in time to catch Kenny and put him back in his bed. It's usually at this time Daddy comes in and gives hims a big hug and tells him he has to stay in his bed. Kenny will calm down some as Daddy lays him down and covers him up then gives Connor night-night hugs and kisses.
Alls good until we turn out the light and leave the room. Kenny starts crying again. And not just "I'm mad" cry, this is a full on "You've broken my heart into teeny tiny pieces, I'll never be the same, I can't believe you'd leave me like this" heart wrenching cry. Even after almost three years of hearing this cry, it still gets to me. I don't know how he can sound like this every time he cries, but he has definitely perfected the heart wrenching cry. I poke my head around the door and tell him to be quiet.
Usually after this he settles down and we don't hear any more out of either of them until around 6:30am. That's our normal bedtime routine.
There are the occasional nights that Connor is crying just as hard as Kenny while tucking them in because he can't find one of his three animals that he sleeps with. He has Puppy, a small, tan blanket that has the head, tail, and feet of a puppy, Scary Bear, a black bear my parents brought him home from Gatlinburg, he's wearing a green Smokey Mountain hoodie and scares away any monsters that try to get in the room at night (hence his name Scary Bear) and Blue Bear, a blue, furry teddy bear. If even one of these characters is missing when it's bedtime, Connor hits meltdown mode. No substitutions will do, it has to be Puppy, Scary Bear and Blue Bear. I have scoured the house before looking for one or the other, even checking behind the couch and in closets and bathrooms. Once located, Connor is fine and goes right to sleep.
And then there's the nights we have a little visitor come crawl in the bed with us. At any time of night, I'll hear Daddy wake up with a start and Kenny will be standing there, staring, wanting in the bed with us. Brad will pick him up and put him between us. I usually give Kenny a little bit to go back to sleep and then I'll pick him up and take him back to his bed. Sometimes I don't hear him come in and I'll just wake up to him kicking me in the back or I'll roll over to see his face right there in mine.
I miss the days when Brad and I got ready to go to bed, we just got in the bed. We didn't have to put up with screaming fits, or little ones climbing in the bed between us, or being made to feel like I'm a horrible person just by laying them down and telling them to go to sleep. No doubt my kids think I'm just being mean, just torturing them, by making them go to bed every night. And I know that once they get older, all this will go away and there'll be days I won't be able to get them out of the bed. But I will always tuck them in and give them goodnight kisses for as long as I can get away with it. Even if they are crying cause they don't want to go to sleep.
Children believe this is a conspiracy by parents to make them miss out on all the best stuff. They must think that once they're asleep, Mom and Dad are going to pull out these cool things to play with, all the candy and junk food to eat, and have a blast without the kids. At least, that's what I used to think when my parents put me to bed. Truth is, we're just so exhausted from the day, once the kids are asleep, we pass out too.
Bedtime at our house can turn into a circus. It usually starts around the time it starts getting dark. The oldest one starts, "I want to stay up." "Hey momma, let's have a movie night." "I'm not sleepy yet." "Since I don't have school in the morning, how about I stay up tonight and sleep late in the morning." (By the way all you new parents or people thinking about having kids, the term "sleep in" no longer applies, you might get to sleep until 7:30, if you're very lucky.)
Once I actually announce "Bedtime" to the kiddos, they run in different directions. The oldest runs to his room and picks out a stack of books that would take two hours to read while the youngest runs to our room yelling "Daddy's bed! Daddy's bed! Daddy's bed!" I firmly tell Connor to pick ONE book while grabbing Kenny off our bed. That's when the tears begin. "But I want to read two!" "NO! DADDY'S BED!"
Here lately I've been able to bribe Kenny back to his and Connor's room by saying we're reading a book. Then Kenny wants to read One Foot, Two Feet, while Connor wants to read How The Grinch Stole Christmas. We literally have hundreds of books for the kids as we've signed them both up for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library when they were born, so the fact that they pick out the same book night after night can get frustrating. But I read them, over...and over...and over.
So after finally settling on a book, we sit down on Kenny's bed and I read to them, doing all the voices, playing up the dramatic parts, and having Kenny point out different things from the pages. After this Connor hops up into his bed yelling "Cover me up! I want a super kiss and super hug!"
Let me just pause here and explain the super kiss and super hug. When Connor was about 3, I would kiss him good night and before I could leave the room, he'd wipe his kiss off and say I had to kiss him again. After a couple of nights of kissing him over and over (which I never get tired of doing, unless it's 8pm and I've spent all day chasing him around) I told him I was going to give him the super duper mommy kiss that could never ever be wiped off no matter how much he wiped his face. I then grabbed his face with both hands and planted a kiss on his cheek that lasted a good minute, with me making all kinds of kissy sounds. Then I had to do the same thing with the hugs. After that, I could give him one big kiss and the leave the room. So now every night, both boys want the super kiss and super hug.
Ok, back to our bedtime routine. So Connor is in his bed asking for the super kiss and super hug. I'm still at Kenny's bed, trying to get him to be still long enough for me to cover him up, because it's this time that he realizes the whole reading a book thing was a rouse to get him into his bed. Now he starts hollering for Daddy's bed again. After a few tries of tucking him in, I give up on covering him up right then and I order him to stay in that bed.
I turn to Connor, pull the covers up around him, give him his super kiss and super hug and tell him I love him. I then turn back around just in time to catch Kenny and put him back in his bed. It's usually at this time Daddy comes in and gives hims a big hug and tells him he has to stay in his bed. Kenny will calm down some as Daddy lays him down and covers him up then gives Connor night-night hugs and kisses.
Alls good until we turn out the light and leave the room. Kenny starts crying again. And not just "I'm mad" cry, this is a full on "You've broken my heart into teeny tiny pieces, I'll never be the same, I can't believe you'd leave me like this" heart wrenching cry. Even after almost three years of hearing this cry, it still gets to me. I don't know how he can sound like this every time he cries, but he has definitely perfected the heart wrenching cry. I poke my head around the door and tell him to be quiet.
Usually after this he settles down and we don't hear any more out of either of them until around 6:30am. That's our normal bedtime routine.
There are the occasional nights that Connor is crying just as hard as Kenny while tucking them in because he can't find one of his three animals that he sleeps with. He has Puppy, a small, tan blanket that has the head, tail, and feet of a puppy, Scary Bear, a black bear my parents brought him home from Gatlinburg, he's wearing a green Smokey Mountain hoodie and scares away any monsters that try to get in the room at night (hence his name Scary Bear) and Blue Bear, a blue, furry teddy bear. If even one of these characters is missing when it's bedtime, Connor hits meltdown mode. No substitutions will do, it has to be Puppy, Scary Bear and Blue Bear. I have scoured the house before looking for one or the other, even checking behind the couch and in closets and bathrooms. Once located, Connor is fine and goes right to sleep.
And then there's the nights we have a little visitor come crawl in the bed with us. At any time of night, I'll hear Daddy wake up with a start and Kenny will be standing there, staring, wanting in the bed with us. Brad will pick him up and put him between us. I usually give Kenny a little bit to go back to sleep and then I'll pick him up and take him back to his bed. Sometimes I don't hear him come in and I'll just wake up to him kicking me in the back or I'll roll over to see his face right there in mine.
I miss the days when Brad and I got ready to go to bed, we just got in the bed. We didn't have to put up with screaming fits, or little ones climbing in the bed between us, or being made to feel like I'm a horrible person just by laying them down and telling them to go to sleep. No doubt my kids think I'm just being mean, just torturing them, by making them go to bed every night. And I know that once they get older, all this will go away and there'll be days I won't be able to get them out of the bed. But I will always tuck them in and give them goodnight kisses for as long as I can get away with it. Even if they are crying cause they don't want to go to sleep.
Thursday, November 21, 2013
The Creep Factor
Yes, I know, it's been a few since my last entry. I've been one busy momma! Adjusting to a schedule since Connor started school has been more than interesting, Kenny getting used to Connor not being here has taken up more than a few days of constantly peeling him off my legs, and this exciting new hobby/business as a photographer has kept a lot of weekends and extra time consumed with taking pictures, viewing pictures and editing pictures!
But that's not what I wanted to talk about today.
You know, a lot of people have a lot of advice when you become pregnant, when you have a newborn, pretty much any new stage of childhood, you get all kinds of either unwanted or sought after advice. I've read all these lists people post about "things they never tell you about being a mom", or "Ten things I wish I had known when I had a baby". I've read hundreds of these lists before. I've laughed at some of the things like, "You will never sleep again." True. I've teared up at things like "you will never know love until your son gives you a kiss and says 'I love you' all on his own." Which my two year old has recently taken to doing, and every kiss I get I squeal and tell him how much I love his kisses and his face just lights up.
But there is one thing I have never seen on any of these lists that I'm going to share with you now. No one tells you how creepy your kids will be! Seriously, they can scare the ever living daylights out of you. I'm not easily scared, okay, I like the jolt of adrenaline I feel with a good scare. But these toddlers are like combining all the horror movies and horror stories together into one small package. Stephen King has nothing on my two year old!
Why does he feel the need to come into our bedroom at 2am and just stand there, right beside our faces, for ten minutes without saying a word? Why can't he just crawl in bed with us? That's just what I need in the middle of the night, to roll over and have these huge eyes just starting at me two inches from my face! Once we wake up...with a shout of fear...and ask him what he wants, then he crawls in the bed and covers up, smiling at us. I heard him one night come into our room and go over to his daddy's side of the bed. I didn't move, I wanted to see just how long he stood there. I know I laid there at least five minutes before I felt my husband stir, then he jumped and I heard him ask Kenny what he wanted, which Kenny answered by crawling up into the bed.
Then there's the 'waking up after nap' scare he likes to do. He'll get up, silently, walk down the hall just a little way, and stand just out of sight. He'll stand there until I see him and tell him it's okay to be up. I've been walking through the house and just all of a sudden be aware that I'm being watched from the hallway or catch a glimpse of him out of the corner of my eye. I have actually started down the hall and he just be there and it makes me give a little shout every time!
He also has a habit of standing right outside the bathroom door, still and quiet, just waiting to scare the crud out of me when I come walking out. Oh, and when he does this while I'm expecting him to still be asleep is especially scary! One day here recently I had put him down for his nap and gone to take a shower. I left the bathroom door open so I could hear him if he called. I got out of the shower, walked past the bathroom door and there was nothing there, I turned around for a second and when I turned back, there he was, just standing there, like he'd been there for a while! It took ten minutes for my heart to beat normally after that one.
Let's not forget the creepy things they can say that makes you just stop cold. When my five year old was about three, he kept telling me at night he was scared in his room, he didn't want to go to sleep. I asked him what he was scared of. He pointed to the corner and said, "the little girl." ......uh...... And there was the time during potty training that, while Connor was sitting on his training toilet and I was sitting on the side of the tub waiting, he suddenly looked up over my head, followed something back and forth with his eyes (me thinking there was a bug or something I looked up ready to swat but saw nothing in the room with us), waved his hand and then said "ok, he's gone."
There have been other creepy things he's said over the years that would make me pause. And I'm sure once Kenny gets to talking really good he'll have his fair share of creepy statements.
So the next time someone is telling you all about what to expect when having kids, or you're reading all these posts by people who have those cute lists on things they never knew, just remember, kids are also creepy!
But that's not what I wanted to talk about today.
You know, a lot of people have a lot of advice when you become pregnant, when you have a newborn, pretty much any new stage of childhood, you get all kinds of either unwanted or sought after advice. I've read all these lists people post about "things they never tell you about being a mom", or "Ten things I wish I had known when I had a baby". I've read hundreds of these lists before. I've laughed at some of the things like, "You will never sleep again." True. I've teared up at things like "you will never know love until your son gives you a kiss and says 'I love you' all on his own." Which my two year old has recently taken to doing, and every kiss I get I squeal and tell him how much I love his kisses and his face just lights up.
But there is one thing I have never seen on any of these lists that I'm going to share with you now. No one tells you how creepy your kids will be! Seriously, they can scare the ever living daylights out of you. I'm not easily scared, okay, I like the jolt of adrenaline I feel with a good scare. But these toddlers are like combining all the horror movies and horror stories together into one small package. Stephen King has nothing on my two year old!
Why does he feel the need to come into our bedroom at 2am and just stand there, right beside our faces, for ten minutes without saying a word? Why can't he just crawl in bed with us? That's just what I need in the middle of the night, to roll over and have these huge eyes just starting at me two inches from my face! Once we wake up...with a shout of fear...and ask him what he wants, then he crawls in the bed and covers up, smiling at us. I heard him one night come into our room and go over to his daddy's side of the bed. I didn't move, I wanted to see just how long he stood there. I know I laid there at least five minutes before I felt my husband stir, then he jumped and I heard him ask Kenny what he wanted, which Kenny answered by crawling up into the bed.
Then there's the 'waking up after nap' scare he likes to do. He'll get up, silently, walk down the hall just a little way, and stand just out of sight. He'll stand there until I see him and tell him it's okay to be up. I've been walking through the house and just all of a sudden be aware that I'm being watched from the hallway or catch a glimpse of him out of the corner of my eye. I have actually started down the hall and he just be there and it makes me give a little shout every time!
He also has a habit of standing right outside the bathroom door, still and quiet, just waiting to scare the crud out of me when I come walking out. Oh, and when he does this while I'm expecting him to still be asleep is especially scary! One day here recently I had put him down for his nap and gone to take a shower. I left the bathroom door open so I could hear him if he called. I got out of the shower, walked past the bathroom door and there was nothing there, I turned around for a second and when I turned back, there he was, just standing there, like he'd been there for a while! It took ten minutes for my heart to beat normally after that one.
Let's not forget the creepy things they can say that makes you just stop cold. When my five year old was about three, he kept telling me at night he was scared in his room, he didn't want to go to sleep. I asked him what he was scared of. He pointed to the corner and said, "the little girl." ......uh...... And there was the time during potty training that, while Connor was sitting on his training toilet and I was sitting on the side of the tub waiting, he suddenly looked up over my head, followed something back and forth with his eyes (me thinking there was a bug or something I looked up ready to swat but saw nothing in the room with us), waved his hand and then said "ok, he's gone."
There have been other creepy things he's said over the years that would make me pause. And I'm sure once Kenny gets to talking really good he'll have his fair share of creepy statements.
So the next time someone is telling you all about what to expect when having kids, or you're reading all these posts by people who have those cute lists on things they never knew, just remember, kids are also creepy!
Friday, May 3, 2013
Oh April, You Crazy Month
Yes, I know it's been a while since I've wrote anything on here. April has just been the craziest month for me! I'm exhausted and ready for a little calm. I was hoping May would be nicer, but it's shaping up to be nearly as busy. And the year is only going to get more interesting as it progresses......yay me?
First of all, the weather has me all messed up. This is spring right? April and May are spring months? I live in Tennessee, where April and May are supposed to be nice. Somebody forgot to tell them that. April couldn't make up it's mind if it wanted to be spring or winter. One day we'd have sunny, warm weather, we could wear shorts and flip flops. The next day it would be in the thirties, threatening snow. And the next it would be pouring down rain and thunder storms rolling in. We never knew how to dress going out because it might start out in the 70's, but drop to the 50's in a single afternoon. Now May is here and it's just wet. Today is the second day of rain. Where's spring? When do I get to say "Spring has sprung"? When can I safely go out in my shorts and flip flops and not have to worry about freezing or getting drenched?
This April I turned 29. I can remember when I was younger, maybe around ten years ago or so, thinking I wasn't going to get weird when I got to 29 and 30 like a lot of women do. I was going to be proud to be 30, I was going to embrace it. After all, it's just a number right? Weeeeellllllll. Now that I'm here....I'm not going to say I'm getting weird, but 29 will be my last birthday. Why does 30 sound so different from any other age I've turned? I know I won't reach 30 until next April, but it's closer now than it has ever been. I don't feel 29. I still feel like a kid. I was talking with my cousin, who's five days older than me, and we agree that we still feel like we're just playing house and playing mom. We don't feel like adults.
Also this April I registered my oldest son for Kindergarten. Talk about a kick in the gut. I look at him and still see my baby boy. He's not big enough to start school. He's not ready for this. It doesn't seem like he's been here for almost five years and is now about to go to school. It doesn't seem fair that I get my babies every day all day for five years of their life, then at five years old, they start school and will be in school 7 hours a day, 5 days a week, 10 months out of the year for the rest of their young life. What about me? But then again, both my sons together have been amping up the crazy in the house here lately. When they're together, they seem to be able to find every one of my stress buttons and the push them like a gamer fighting off the bad guys in one of those video games. My oldest spent most of the day with his grandma the other day and having just my youngest son was a breeze. It was so much calmer. And I realized, "this is what it'll be like when the oldest goes to school". It was like a light turned on at the end of a tunnel. How soon does August get here? Although I'm still nervous, and I wish I had more time with him before he starts his school career, I'm excited for him too. He's going to be okay.....I hope.
And last but not least, the biggest surprise we got towards the end of April. I'm going to be an Aunt. My little sister and her husband have been trying for a few months now to get pregnant. She called me the day before my birthday and told me the exciting news. Come December, they're having a baby! So now when I'm on the phone with her, all we talk about is baby. I'm trying not be one of those, "Well when I was pregnant" and "What I did was" kind of people. This will be an interesting 7 more months. My sister is.....well, it's hard to describe her, she's a lot like me in the hard headed and stubborn department. She's persistent when she sets her mind to something, and she can question you to death as well as any four year old. I've already been drilled on everything from early pregnancy symptoms (Thank goodness she's not had any morning sickness) to what the epidural felt like and if she should get one. (Which, based on my last experience with one, I will probably never get another epidural if I should have another baby) But my sister is also kindhearted, loves kids, and I have no doubt she'll be a loving mother. If we can all get through her pregnancy with our sanity intact! And I can't wait to meet little Wilson or Wendy!
So April was all over the place for me. May is looking somewhat better, but I have my first real photo-shoot scheduled, so I'm studying up on what I need to know. There's a big mud bog event scheduled just down the road from us, it was fun last year and I got some great pictures, so hoping this year will be even better. There's a couple of movies coming out I have to see in the theater, including the new Star Trek. Yes. I am a Trekkie. Judge me if you want, I don't care. I take my oldest for his Kindergarten screening and I get to meet with the principle to try and get him in Mrs. Angie's class. She's not only our cousin, but she was my Kindergarten teacher, and I think that would be awesome! And then we get to prepare for June, which holds our 9th wedding anniversary and our youngest's second birthday.
Wish me luck in this fun filled year!
First of all, the weather has me all messed up. This is spring right? April and May are spring months? I live in Tennessee, where April and May are supposed to be nice. Somebody forgot to tell them that. April couldn't make up it's mind if it wanted to be spring or winter. One day we'd have sunny, warm weather, we could wear shorts and flip flops. The next day it would be in the thirties, threatening snow. And the next it would be pouring down rain and thunder storms rolling in. We never knew how to dress going out because it might start out in the 70's, but drop to the 50's in a single afternoon. Now May is here and it's just wet. Today is the second day of rain. Where's spring? When do I get to say "Spring has sprung"? When can I safely go out in my shorts and flip flops and not have to worry about freezing or getting drenched?
This April I turned 29. I can remember when I was younger, maybe around ten years ago or so, thinking I wasn't going to get weird when I got to 29 and 30 like a lot of women do. I was going to be proud to be 30, I was going to embrace it. After all, it's just a number right? Weeeeellllllll. Now that I'm here....I'm not going to say I'm getting weird, but 29 will be my last birthday. Why does 30 sound so different from any other age I've turned? I know I won't reach 30 until next April, but it's closer now than it has ever been. I don't feel 29. I still feel like a kid. I was talking with my cousin, who's five days older than me, and we agree that we still feel like we're just playing house and playing mom. We don't feel like adults.
Also this April I registered my oldest son for Kindergarten. Talk about a kick in the gut. I look at him and still see my baby boy. He's not big enough to start school. He's not ready for this. It doesn't seem like he's been here for almost five years and is now about to go to school. It doesn't seem fair that I get my babies every day all day for five years of their life, then at five years old, they start school and will be in school 7 hours a day, 5 days a week, 10 months out of the year for the rest of their young life. What about me? But then again, both my sons together have been amping up the crazy in the house here lately. When they're together, they seem to be able to find every one of my stress buttons and the push them like a gamer fighting off the bad guys in one of those video games. My oldest spent most of the day with his grandma the other day and having just my youngest son was a breeze. It was so much calmer. And I realized, "this is what it'll be like when the oldest goes to school". It was like a light turned on at the end of a tunnel. How soon does August get here? Although I'm still nervous, and I wish I had more time with him before he starts his school career, I'm excited for him too. He's going to be okay.....I hope.
And last but not least, the biggest surprise we got towards the end of April. I'm going to be an Aunt. My little sister and her husband have been trying for a few months now to get pregnant. She called me the day before my birthday and told me the exciting news. Come December, they're having a baby! So now when I'm on the phone with her, all we talk about is baby. I'm trying not be one of those, "Well when I was pregnant" and "What I did was" kind of people. This will be an interesting 7 more months. My sister is.....well, it's hard to describe her, she's a lot like me in the hard headed and stubborn department. She's persistent when she sets her mind to something, and she can question you to death as well as any four year old. I've already been drilled on everything from early pregnancy symptoms (Thank goodness she's not had any morning sickness) to what the epidural felt like and if she should get one. (Which, based on my last experience with one, I will probably never get another epidural if I should have another baby) But my sister is also kindhearted, loves kids, and I have no doubt she'll be a loving mother. If we can all get through her pregnancy with our sanity intact! And I can't wait to meet little Wilson or Wendy!
So April was all over the place for me. May is looking somewhat better, but I have my first real photo-shoot scheduled, so I'm studying up on what I need to know. There's a big mud bog event scheduled just down the road from us, it was fun last year and I got some great pictures, so hoping this year will be even better. There's a couple of movies coming out I have to see in the theater, including the new Star Trek. Yes. I am a Trekkie. Judge me if you want, I don't care. I take my oldest for his Kindergarten screening and I get to meet with the principle to try and get him in Mrs. Angie's class. She's not only our cousin, but she was my Kindergarten teacher, and I think that would be awesome! And then we get to prepare for June, which holds our 9th wedding anniversary and our youngest's second birthday.
Wish me luck in this fun filled year!
Friday, March 15, 2013
My Weight-loss Journey
I have finally started to seriously start losing weight and getting healthy. As a little kid I was what they called a skinny minnie. I was a picky eater who never sat still. I can remember so many times my parents trying, begging, threatening, bargaining to try and get me to eat. When I reached middle school I finally decided to start trying new foods and I liked it. I started gaining weight and I got a little hefty. I was never over weight, but I was a little bigger than I probably should've been. I was not athletic at all, I didn't have an athletic bone in my body. I hated any kind of physical activity because I wasn't any good at it. When I reached high school I knew I was heavier than some of the girls, but I wasn't really worried about it. I had my friends who liked me for me and I didn't try to change myself for anyone. Until Prom came up. I started trying to lose a little weight cause I wanted to look good in my prom dress. I succeeded too! I lost a little and had a sort of flat stomach. I kept the weight off for two years and then I got married. In the first four years of my marriage I gained just a little weight, enough that it was starting to show. In the fourth year I got pregnant with our first son and after that I had that "mom pooch" around my waist that never went away. After our second son was born it got worse and I weighed the most I've ever weighed in my life. I'm about 5'4 and I weighed 147lbs. I was not happy with that. For two years I would stare at my body in the mirror wishing I looked better. I didn't like the way clothes looked on me, I didn't like how I felt about my body, and I knew there was only one way to fix it. But for two years I kept telling myself that I didn't have time for a workout routine, that I wasn't really fat, it would go away on its own, that I couldn't do a workout, I wasn't strong enough or coordinated enough. Then I started seeing other women my age on Facebook telling about their weightloss. I wanted that. I wanted to be able to post before and after pictures and say how many pounds I had lost.
I finally started one day after two years of putting it off. I started slow. I own Zumba Fitness 2 for Wii, and I started with that every other day. Zumba is so much fun and burns so many calories. After about a month of Zumba every other day I had lost two pounds. That was good, but I wanted more. So I borrowed the X-Factor ST workout from my sister in law, I printed out the workout calendar it provided, I stuck the Week 1 DVD in and I began. I am in Week 6 and have lost five more pounds. I'm down to 140 and I feel great.
It's been hard. I've changed some of eating habits, given up a few things and replaced them with healthier choices. I admit to that I slacked off my workout once one week and once the next week, then my mother took me to Applebees and I stuffed myself. With the slack off and the extra food, I gained two pounds back. But I'm working them off extra hard.
I've also started Zumba at my church once a week. I carry my Wii and my Zumba game and I boogie with a few of my church members! That's a sight, older people doing cha-cha's and salsa!! Even my pastor, his wife and my own parents have joined in. Everyone who has tried it has loved it.
When I get through with X-Factor in two weeks, I'm starting Les Mills Body Combat that I have ordered and is on it's way. My husbands cousin who lives in Wisconsin is a coach for BeachBody and she convinced me to get Body Combat and we're going to go through it together.
So if you're like me, thinking you'd like to do a workout and lose weight, but you don't think you can, take it from me. You can. I really did not believe I had it in me to do the moves: pushups, squats, lunges, planks. They seemed so hard and I knew I was not strong. But I did it. Some I have to modify so that I can get through them but that's okay. As long as you're doing as much as you can do, you're getting a good workout. Even though I'm doing assisted pushups on my knees, it's still a lot better than sitting on the couch watching tv, which is how I used to spend my mornings. Sometimes during the workout I have to stop and rest, sometimes I'm going slower than the trainer. But that's better than walking around with a box of Cheez-Its in my hand.
I wanted to share my journey with you. It's been a little over two months so far, and I plan on it going for a very long time. My overall goal is to lose the 'pooch' around my stomach and tone up my muscles. I'm not concerned too much over the number I weigh. As long as I'm fit and healthy. I'm not looking for a body like those Hollywood skeletons, I don't want my bones showing through. I hope my story has encouraged you to consider where you want to be and what you have to do to get there.
I finally started one day after two years of putting it off. I started slow. I own Zumba Fitness 2 for Wii, and I started with that every other day. Zumba is so much fun and burns so many calories. After about a month of Zumba every other day I had lost two pounds. That was good, but I wanted more. So I borrowed the X-Factor ST workout from my sister in law, I printed out the workout calendar it provided, I stuck the Week 1 DVD in and I began. I am in Week 6 and have lost five more pounds. I'm down to 140 and I feel great.
It's been hard. I've changed some of eating habits, given up a few things and replaced them with healthier choices. I admit to that I slacked off my workout once one week and once the next week, then my mother took me to Applebees and I stuffed myself. With the slack off and the extra food, I gained two pounds back. But I'm working them off extra hard.
I've also started Zumba at my church once a week. I carry my Wii and my Zumba game and I boogie with a few of my church members! That's a sight, older people doing cha-cha's and salsa!! Even my pastor, his wife and my own parents have joined in. Everyone who has tried it has loved it.
When I get through with X-Factor in two weeks, I'm starting Les Mills Body Combat that I have ordered and is on it's way. My husbands cousin who lives in Wisconsin is a coach for BeachBody and she convinced me to get Body Combat and we're going to go through it together.
So if you're like me, thinking you'd like to do a workout and lose weight, but you don't think you can, take it from me. You can. I really did not believe I had it in me to do the moves: pushups, squats, lunges, planks. They seemed so hard and I knew I was not strong. But I did it. Some I have to modify so that I can get through them but that's okay. As long as you're doing as much as you can do, you're getting a good workout. Even though I'm doing assisted pushups on my knees, it's still a lot better than sitting on the couch watching tv, which is how I used to spend my mornings. Sometimes during the workout I have to stop and rest, sometimes I'm going slower than the trainer. But that's better than walking around with a box of Cheez-Its in my hand.
I wanted to share my journey with you. It's been a little over two months so far, and I plan on it going for a very long time. My overall goal is to lose the 'pooch' around my stomach and tone up my muscles. I'm not concerned too much over the number I weigh. As long as I'm fit and healthy. I'm not looking for a body like those Hollywood skeletons, I don't want my bones showing through. I hope my story has encouraged you to consider where you want to be and what you have to do to get there.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Boys are......Different
As most of you know, I am mom to two boys. If you count my husband, three boys! Cause we all know grown men are just boys in big bodies! Sometimes I watch the three of them doing something together I wonder what in the world is going through their heads?! Unfortunately , (so far) I don't have a little girl. So I really have nothing to measure the difference between little boys and little girls, but I have to think, (maybe hope) that little girls aren't like little boys. I'm still hoping to have a little girl someday, but that's in God's hands. God, in His all knowing wisdom, and to my befuddlement, has seen fit to give me two.....boys. I say that hesitantly because I think my boys aren't all boy.
They're a mixed breed. I have seen:
1) Monkey: their feet hardly stay on the ground. They are always climbing on something. Every time I turn around I'm having to pull my almost two year old off of something. A chair, the back of the couch, the kitchen table, his table, the breakfast bar, the front of his high chair, etc. I'm surprised I haven't caught him dangling from the light fixtures yet.
2) Howler Monkey: My ears ring all the time because they think it's so much fun to scream out at the top of their lungs for no reason. When one starts, the other starts copying. You know, monkey see, monkey do! I don't know if they're trying to see who can scream the loudest, or the highest pitch, or what, but I'm surprised I can still hear.
3) Octopus: These boys can have more arms and hands than I do. It seems no matter how far out of reach I put something, they can still reach it. If I had a dime for the number of times I've taken things away from them they're not supposed to have, I'd be a billionaire. I can set down here at my computer to do things and here comes the two year old. He starts grabbing. I move things from one end of the table I'm sitting at to the other three or four times. You'd think all those toys they have would be enough, but no, they only want the things they can't have.
4) Monsters: Some of the sounds that come out of these boys are not human. They growl and groan and sometimes I think there has to be something other worldly in the house with me. Then I realize it's just them. The two year old does the most growling, but his older brother holds his own.
I've also noticed several things they have become proficient in. And I'm afraid that they'll only get better at these things as they get older. So here's a list of occupations they could be gainfully employed in when they reach adulthood:
1) Demolition Crew: If they go into business together in this, they'll make an absolute fortune and take care of me and their Daddy for the rest of our lives. I can't count on both hands the number of things I've had to super glue back together, or the things that just wouldn't go back together. I have a waiting list of my things that are waiting to be glued back together. There's a little hole in their wall behind their door that mysteriously appeared. You cannot leave them alone with a roll of toilet paper if you want any toilet paper left on the roll. And if they can't break it, they'll lose it.
2) Police/Soldier: They're scared of nothing. They'll try anything. Even after be threatened with a spanking, they'll go ahead and do what they were just told not to do. Even if they just got hurt doing something, they'll turn right back around and do it again. They have bravery just oozing out of them. Not to mention everything they pick up suddenly becomes a weapon. Nothing turns on my mom radar more than hearing my oldest say, "Come on, let's fight!"
3) Comedians: They could be a team! The oldest has a witty sense of humor and can say the funniest things at the perfect time. The youngest has a more physical sense of humor. Faces and body language is his specialty.
4) Nude Models: Not a profession I will allow them to do, but trying to keep clothes on these kids is near 'bout impossible! I can put pants and a shirt on the oldest and ten minutes later he'll come through the room in his undies! For no reason at all. And if I don't keep pants on the youngest, then before I know it, he'll come through without a diaper on.
5) Ninjas: For someone who is always making noise they can be sneaky when they want to be. I've always heard that when the kids get quiet, you better start worrying. When my kids get quiet I get down right scared! It doesn't take but a blink of an eye for them to get into something they're not supposed to.
You know the saying that boys are just noise with dirt on them. It's true, just in case you were wondering. My boys are always making noise, even when they're sleeping. And they're always covered in some kind of dirt, and usually it's sticky. The oldest has this one spot on his cheek that always has a black streak. I can wash it off and five minutes later it's back. The youngest usually has his dirt around his mouth. I sometimes wonder if dirt and stickiness grows from the boys, like instead of sweating, they just ooze dirt.
But you know, I wouldn't have it any other way. I love my boys, all three of them, more than anything on this earth. It's amazing to me that my husband and I could create something so wondrous and perfect as these two little boys. They can do something and I think, that is their Daddy in them, then they can do something and I see myself. My babies are healthy, happy, they have a good nature, smart, funny, and imaginative. I couldn't ask for anything more. I know all the things they do right now that annoy me, make me mad or frustrated, will pass. They'll grow out of it. I'm so proud of my howler monkey octopus monster comedian, demolition nudist ninjas!
They're a mixed breed. I have seen:
1) Monkey: their feet hardly stay on the ground. They are always climbing on something. Every time I turn around I'm having to pull my almost two year old off of something. A chair, the back of the couch, the kitchen table, his table, the breakfast bar, the front of his high chair, etc. I'm surprised I haven't caught him dangling from the light fixtures yet.
2) Howler Monkey: My ears ring all the time because they think it's so much fun to scream out at the top of their lungs for no reason. When one starts, the other starts copying. You know, monkey see, monkey do! I don't know if they're trying to see who can scream the loudest, or the highest pitch, or what, but I'm surprised I can still hear.
3) Octopus: These boys can have more arms and hands than I do. It seems no matter how far out of reach I put something, they can still reach it. If I had a dime for the number of times I've taken things away from them they're not supposed to have, I'd be a billionaire. I can set down here at my computer to do things and here comes the two year old. He starts grabbing. I move things from one end of the table I'm sitting at to the other three or four times. You'd think all those toys they have would be enough, but no, they only want the things they can't have.
4) Monsters: Some of the sounds that come out of these boys are not human. They growl and groan and sometimes I think there has to be something other worldly in the house with me. Then I realize it's just them. The two year old does the most growling, but his older brother holds his own.
I've also noticed several things they have become proficient in. And I'm afraid that they'll only get better at these things as they get older. So here's a list of occupations they could be gainfully employed in when they reach adulthood:
1) Demolition Crew: If they go into business together in this, they'll make an absolute fortune and take care of me and their Daddy for the rest of our lives. I can't count on both hands the number of things I've had to super glue back together, or the things that just wouldn't go back together. I have a waiting list of my things that are waiting to be glued back together. There's a little hole in their wall behind their door that mysteriously appeared. You cannot leave them alone with a roll of toilet paper if you want any toilet paper left on the roll. And if they can't break it, they'll lose it.
2) Police/Soldier: They're scared of nothing. They'll try anything. Even after be threatened with a spanking, they'll go ahead and do what they were just told not to do. Even if they just got hurt doing something, they'll turn right back around and do it again. They have bravery just oozing out of them. Not to mention everything they pick up suddenly becomes a weapon. Nothing turns on my mom radar more than hearing my oldest say, "Come on, let's fight!"
3) Comedians: They could be a team! The oldest has a witty sense of humor and can say the funniest things at the perfect time. The youngest has a more physical sense of humor. Faces and body language is his specialty.
4) Nude Models: Not a profession I will allow them to do, but trying to keep clothes on these kids is near 'bout impossible! I can put pants and a shirt on the oldest and ten minutes later he'll come through the room in his undies! For no reason at all. And if I don't keep pants on the youngest, then before I know it, he'll come through without a diaper on.
5) Ninjas: For someone who is always making noise they can be sneaky when they want to be. I've always heard that when the kids get quiet, you better start worrying. When my kids get quiet I get down right scared! It doesn't take but a blink of an eye for them to get into something they're not supposed to.
You know the saying that boys are just noise with dirt on them. It's true, just in case you were wondering. My boys are always making noise, even when they're sleeping. And they're always covered in some kind of dirt, and usually it's sticky. The oldest has this one spot on his cheek that always has a black streak. I can wash it off and five minutes later it's back. The youngest usually has his dirt around his mouth. I sometimes wonder if dirt and stickiness grows from the boys, like instead of sweating, they just ooze dirt.
But you know, I wouldn't have it any other way. I love my boys, all three of them, more than anything on this earth. It's amazing to me that my husband and I could create something so wondrous and perfect as these two little boys. They can do something and I think, that is their Daddy in them, then they can do something and I see myself. My babies are healthy, happy, they have a good nature, smart, funny, and imaginative. I couldn't ask for anything more. I know all the things they do right now that annoy me, make me mad or frustrated, will pass. They'll grow out of it. I'm so proud of my howler monkey octopus monster comedian, demolition nudist ninjas!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)