60 second update

• The cuddler is finally into potty training! Apparently, I just needed to bribe him with candy. We’re starting slow, but he is learning.
• Lily is graduating out of her swim class at the end of the week into a more advanced one!
• Received yet another letter from the IRS telling that they will need another month to review the four pages of documents for my refund. Was really hoping to get if before I filed for 2011 taxes, but that doesn’t seem likely.
• Summer is going by way too fast for my liking and I haven’t accomplished as much as I hoped I would by now.
• I have read about 30 books. (I read fast) Thus explaining why I haven’t accomplished much so far.
• My back yard looks like a wild meadow. I really need to mow today while the sun is still shining.
• Although time is moving quickly, the weather has not really been that summer like. It’s getting to the point where I’m glad I didn’t waste money on summer clothes for myself.

New Car

If the IRS ever decides to pay my tax refund… or officially denies me, I’ll be purchasing a car. I’d buy one now, but I could get a much better deal with that wad of cash and why not wait? After all, the IRS keeps stringing me along with 30 day promises. It would be so nice if I could do that with some of my bills. Just string them along indefinitely, with no penalty.

In the meantime, I’ve been window shopping for the past six months.

What do you drive? The ever-popular mom van? Lots of room, but limited gas mileage? An SUV? Safe, tough, cool mom type?

Netflix, kids and movies

I’m sure you’ve heard about the Netflix price jump.. even if you aren’t a subscriber. People are more upset about this than the economic woes of our government or dumbing down of our education system (even more!). Shocking, I know.

It makes me wonder exactly how much TV people are actually watching, examining how much we are… and is it time to cut back? I’ll admit it. TV is some times the only thing that saves my sanity. Then again, it doesn’t. My son’s current obsession with Dora means there is a lot more whining to watch Dora at all times  of the day, thus almost forcing me to buy Dora movies. Or maintain a streaming movie membership.

How much TV do you let your kids watch? None? A couple of hours? Not sure, because there is a TV in every room, including their bedrooms?

When I was a nanny, (seriously, I was just like Jo Frost. So good! And so bad with my own!) the kids I cared for watch a maximum of two hours – and NO video games during the week. As pre-teens, people. I was that good. Now, not so much. Am I the only one?

Summertime, and the living is easy.

We survived our first vacation of the summer. Of course, the first night had me declaring that we would never leave home again. Both kids were just too keyed up to go to sleep, even though they were really, really ‘I’ve-lost-my-mind-and-can-no-longer-function” tired. As was I. For the rest of the trip, my goal was to ensure that they were so tired by bedtime that they just might go to sleep at a normal time. It must have worked, because they not only fell asleep at a decent time, but did so while sleeping in the same bed!

Now we’re back the usual schedule of eat, swim, eat, nap, eat, swim, eat. With some bike riding thrown in.

Lala finally did figure it out. Now, every time someone rides by on a bike, she points out that the rider is “moving their feet up and down, just like me!” She is incredibly proud of her herself for figuring out how to make the bike move. I’m sure that steering will come along soon too! At least, hopefully, before a major injuries occur. A major plus living on a flood plain is that everything is relatively flat…because steering and braking may be a problem.

The Cuddler turned three yesterday. Although I still call him my baby, he’s not. Fully into the “I do it!” stage, he’s becoming quite independent. So far, it’s displayed in his refusal to do anything. No go on the big potty! No pick up toys! No watch Elmo! No! He’s also developed an obsession with Dora. I don’t know it it’s the interactivity of the show or what, but somehow it totally sucks him in. I’m drawing the line at buying him Dora clothes, though. The high heel shoes are plenty.

Wordless Wednesday

Riding a bike

What age is best for riding a bike? It seems like kids are getting them younger and younger these days – and they’re made smaller and smaller.

I mentioned before that the cuddler was receiving a bike for his birthday. My mother purchased one for Lala last week and so I gave the kids the bikes yesterday. I figured that they would be able to get more use out them if they had them at the beginning of summer, and we could avoid the whole ‘birthday present jealousy’ thing. Also, I apparently have patience issues.

While both were excited to see the bikes, that wore off pretty soon. Apparently watching others ride a bike is not as easy as riding it yourself. Learning how to ride a bike is not as easy as “riding a bike”, apparently.

Any tips on teaching them? Both have training wheels so balance isn’t an issue… just getting the concept of pushing the pedals forward to move the bike forward. Maybe they’re just too young? I don’t think I got a bike until I was in grade school, which is when most of my friends seemed to get them as well.

Fourth Of July

Lala and the cuddler are still trying to understand the concept of “birthday party for America”, but they do know something is up since Grandma is still visiting (instead of heading home for work on Monday) and every five minutes there’s another loud firecracker bang!

We’ll be enjoying fresh stawberries, treats galore and hopefully some time in the pool before ending the day with fireworks.  Not too many fireworks… “we” don’t like the loud bangs and find the noises pretty scary.  Sparklers it is!

Happy 4th!

Family Garden

The best thing about summer? Besides popsicles, watermelon, swimming in the lake and BBQ? Produce from the garden!

Two of the easiest things to grow are lettuce and zucchini. And let’s be honest… you don’t even need to grow your own zucchini. Just make friends with someone who does and you’ll be set *wink*

To grow lettuce you don’t even need a yard. Just a big pot. Personally, I’m a bit lazy, so I buy my plants (starts) at the local famer’s market and then plant in the pot. Lettuce is a “cool” weather plant, so it’s not a huge fan of heat. It likes a lot of water, as well. Around here, where it’s not EVER that hot and rains enough that I barely own a sprinkler. (and no AC, so not worth the expense. It would get used about two days a year), I can grow lettuce all summer long. When we want a salad, I just go out and pick a few leaves. That’s it. Totally easy. No running to the store. No going bad in the crisper.

Even if your area isn’t quite so temperate, I think that planting in an area that gets a bit of shade during the day and watering on a regular basis, you could grow it for awhile during the summer. And trust me, you will cry when you have to go back to store-bought.

Stay At Home Mom

Now that the school year is finally over, and I finished up with everything else, I’ve been acclimating myself to the life of a stay-at-home mom. Three meals a day, driving to and fro… it’s been pretty fun actually.

What are we doing?

• swimming lessons
• dance class (a shocking bargain at the local Y)
• playing in the yard
• more Dentist appointments – yay!
• visiting friends

Lala has also had some swallow therapy appointments. The therapist seems to think that her swallowing issues might be linked to weak tongue muscle development. Which may be linked to to the torticollis Lala experienced as an infant. At least, she seemed to react like it was very important when I told her about. At this point, I’m willing to go along with anything to help her.

I have to brag about my major bargain steal. The cuddler’s birthday is just a few days away. A few weeks ago, I found a practically new Spiderman bike for him at a garage sale for $8!! Brand new the bike retails for about $70 and I got it for $8. There was a lot of happy squeals as my car drove away. I’m now on the search for Lala’s bike, which may be delivered by the birthday fairy on the same day. I know I’m totally caving, but the amount of screaming and whining when the cuddler has a bike and Lala doesn’t, is more than I can even think about handling.

The End and the Beginning

All the students have left. My grades have been turned in, the chairs stacked and the pile of garbage is growing. FWIW, if you are looking for cheap school supplies and don't mind a bit of distress, have your kids ask their teachers to save them stuff when cleaning out their rooms. I gave about a dozen quarter used notebooks to the counseling office for next year, and I found all the lost pens (or at least half of them). I still have to return next week for my "presentation of data", but with out students, it's pretty relaxed.

Earlier this year, I told my students that if they raised over $1000 for the cancer relay, I would dye my hair pink. I should have remembered that $1000 is nothing for this community. We may be poverty stricken, but they are generous to a fault.


- Posted using my iPad

Wordless Wednesday

Car Trips

Do you do long car trips with your kids?

My immediate family lives about 7 hours away. Seven hours of adult driving – it’s about 8 or 9 driving with kids. It’s a very long day to say the least.

I’ve tried multiple ways of making it a fun trip for everyone. And let me just say… the driving is not going to be the fun part of the trip. It’s just not, so accept and move on. There are a couple of ways to make a little less painful:

• More than one adult (or teen). Wow! This alone makes the biggest difference. Everything is easier. I know this sounds basic, but for the single moms out there, it is worth paying for someone else to come along. If, you know, you can’t rope someone into coming along for free.
• Non-sugary snacks and drinks. You’re already trapped in the car with a two year old… adding sugar is just scary.
• DVD player – with movies they haven’t seen before. Sadly, the old standbys won’t prevent sibling slap fights, no matter how beloved.
• A map of city parks. Just accept that you will have to stop for an exercise break at least twice (if not more)… and do you really want your child running around a rest stop? I swear the Cuddler heads straight for the freeway every single time. Small town city park is much safer and has play ground equipment.
• Map of the long route. Interstate highways are faster, but more boring. And expensive. Take the local highways instead. Easier access to parks, restaurants that have picnic areas (not a drive through), cheaper gas and much more interesting sights. One of these days we’re going to dig for dinosaurs while heading to our summer camp. Can’t do that while driving along the interstate and you save no time.
• Wipes – for kids and your car

Last, don’t have a time table. Don’t try to beat your time or make plans at a certain time. Doing the car trip with little kids and a time table is just a recipe for screaming frustration. To paraphrase Sally, Don’t drive to get to a good time, drive to have a good time.

Beginning our summer – Free association

I may have mentioned in the last few posts that this is a busy time of year for me. It’s also a fairly stressful one. I teach one section of high school seniors… the count down to graduation is crazy the last few weeks. While the students are less than willing to do anything, some of them really, REALLY need to do something. Like complete an assignment! No one wants to be the teacher telling parents that their child isn’t going to graduate, but some times you really have to wonder if that is what the kid wants to do. So, while trying to keep everyone motivated to do something, there are always a couple who really need a kick in the pants!

Meanwhile the laundry is piling up. Appointments are missed. And yesterday was the first time I cooked a meal that didn’t come out of can or a restaurant in about three weeks. Also, little blog posting as you can see… thinking was the last thing I wanted to do.

Yesterday was graduation, so it’s done. Everyone passed and no teary phone calls had to be made. For the next week, I’ll be finishing up the grading and packing up my room. Let the summer slide begin!

I did manage to register Lala and the Cuddler for swim lessons. Lala will also get dance lessons (they were $11 for the session! Rock bottom cheap! The local dance school – while a real dance school – charges $50 for a month!). I’m sure the rock bottom price is to get the kids suckered into joining one of the local dance schools, but I think I can resist temptation. Besides gymnastics will start up again in the fall.

The swim lessons are every morning! Is that normal? They’re timed just right as to make doing a few days of daycare (and giving Mommy a break) almost impossible and it’s every day! I’m not so thrilled about that – when will I mow the lawn? When will I get time to read some trashy novel? Or repaint the bathroom (decided I hate the grey)?

I also hit the library events calendar and put all the relevant things on the calendar. Free entertainment is going to be our watch word this summer. Actually, “Free!” will be our watch word… but anything “free” is usually pretty entertaining, so there you go. Our trips are planned out too – a weekend/birthday at my father’s house (hot tub!), camping with the family and another week @ my father’s house. Two kid free days @ a professional conference. First overnight stay at Grandma/Grandpa’s house. We’ll see how that goes… What do you do to prepare kids for that? I’ve found that Lala has a very hazy concept of time and preparation before 24 hours of any event tends to cause problems. I made the mistake of talking about the laryngoscope a week ahead of time, and we had freak outs every time we left the house for the week.

If we actually get warm weather, we will also hit the spray park. But that’s not something we can really plan on. FWIW, those of you sweltering elsewhere in the US, a trip to WA coast will bring much relief. Skip the lines and D*isn*y and bring a sweatshirt! We could also use the economic boost. Just sayin’ – it’s a win-win for everyone.

PS. Those large feathered flower hair things are just weird. Please stop wearing them. You know who you are.

Summer Fun

This past weekend was beautiful! In fact, there was so much playing outside, the cuddler actually took a nap. That is a lot of energy expended. Please let it continue... We haven't had a real summer here in four years.

The school year is winding down, but the work continues. Grading, packing up, and still no contract for next year. A bit worrisome. And exhausting.

Lala has her first major dental work appointment tomorrow. She did really well at the initial visit, despite getting lost, pulled over for speeding and a lot of swearing on my part before we even found the hidden office. She wasn't even slightly freaked out by the male dentist... A usual reaction to strange men. I'm hoping that trend continues tomorrow.

- Posted using my iPad

Olden Days

What did people do with toddlers on trips before lap top computers, Ipads and netflix? Because I may have gone crazy without them... 

May Madness

I give up. May is just too crazy.

I am a walking to do list. *shheesh*


Posted on the fly!

Weekend Update

The most heard phrase around work this week has been... "it's May." cue exasperated sigh. Everything happens in May. Testing galore. Field trips. Planning for next year. Graduation and all accompanying hoopla.

Basically, everyone is going crazy quickly and a lot of patience is needed to get through it.

It has made for a slow blogging month because I just don't have time to do anything besides work and keep the house from falling in around me. For a couple of days my house looked like 'that house' on the block with a nice meadow of knee high grass. So far the garden is barely there - between rain and work, I just don't have time to get to it.

Meanwhile, in the "wow! My kids are from such a different generation!" file... I'm having a hard time explaining to Lala the difference between a DVR'd show and regular TV. We don't watch a lot of regular TV, so on rare occasions that we do, she complains bitterly about the commercials. Madison street is failing big time with her. She was not even slightly tempted by the sparkling new sketchers... She just wanted Busytown back.

Posted on the fly!

Memorial Day?!?! ACK!

This month is just flying by! It was April… like, yesterday!

Thankfully, the weather has been somewhat cooperative. I finally got the peas in, and they are sprouting as I speak.

Nothing else has been done. My garden is currently growing weeds. Weeds that I faithfully pluck back out, because I’m going plant there… or, will when I get two minutes to myself.

I’m totally lying – I’ve spent all my extra time reading a new series of books on my phone. Work has been busy and stressful. I’m wanting to escape from it all the time.

Meanwhile, the darned garden still sits alone and barren.

Mother's Day Meme

The level of failures over the past two weeks has risen to a new level. Also, I had to give up my dog - which made me so ad, I really don't want to talk about anything of importance. I just want to avoid thinking.

My most embarrassing moment as a mom was when… my children have worn down my last nerve in public and I'm trying not go insane. I can't always keep that out of my expressions or voice, so I'm always wondering what people are really hearing while I try to keep it together. Also, Lala walked out the door this morning with my bra wrapped around her foot - in front of several of my high school students (bus stops in front of my house!).

The worst parenting advice I ever got was… "Enjoy every moment... they grow up so fast" Really? I should enjoy the whipping off the diaper stage where I have to scrub poop off of the floor? Cause I am NOT feeling it. Not everything is fantastic, but the good stuff makes it worthwhile, but don't feel guilty if you aren't enjoying every moment.

The best parenting advice I ever got was…"The days are long, but the years are short."

I wish they had have told me that being a mom… how amazingly funny your kids are, but only to you.

My most frightening moment as a mom was when…Lala had ear infection after ear infection when she was a baby and I didn't sleep for weeks at a time. Sometimes I'd sing "go to sleep, go to sleep" over and over trying not fall into a sleep deprivation psychosis. I, seriously, doubted that I had what it takes to be a mom.

My best mom blog is… Postcards from Insanity.

The most awkward question I get asked as a mom is…again, I must have one of those faces or I'm just not friendly enough... or I just never feel awkward. I never get asked rude questions. Or it could be the area I live in - why ask when every know kind of awkward situation out there exists in spades around here?

If I had to do anything over as a mom, it would be… yell less and panic less. They go hand in hand.

If I could advise new moms to do anything, it would be to… poop is now your life. First comes the first poops. The new kinds of poops. How many poops? What do the different kinds of poops mean? What if there is no poop? What consistency is the poop? "Did someone poop?" "Did you poop?" Will the poops go in the toilet? Who pooped on the toilet? Who didn't flush their poop? poop! Deal with it.

The "non-essential" items that became essential were… the umbrella stroller. Not only did it save my sanity while going to all the doctors appointments and other appointments, but we also used it as a sleep aid, a high chair, a place to put the baby while showering, etc. It was the second parent.

The products that make me look as if I've had a decent night's uninterrupted sleep are… my mother getting up with the kids.

The things that have kept me sane as a mom are… my mother. My cousins. My co-workers and friends.

The one thing I'll never do again as a mom is… buy toys I would want... not the ones they would want.

I'd like to be remembered as the mom who… put their children ahead of themselves (in a good way)

Motherhood has changed me because I'm… less selfish? more selfish? definitely less of a shopaholic

Frogs

While driving to kidlets to daycare in the morning, I cleared my throat (bring on the spring allergies!). Apparently, it was quite loud as the cuddler exclaimed from the back seat:

Cuddler: "Momma, what was that!"
Me: "I just had a frog in my throat."
Cuddler: *loud gasp of shock*
Lala: "Momma. We. Do. Not. Put. Frogs. In. Our. Mouth!"

15 seconds later...

Lala: "Momma, what is that sound you making?"
Me: "I'm laughing, Lala."

Oh, the joys of kids.