Tuesday afternoon Jacelyn had a triangle-shaped blank banner (pink, of course) in her folder, with instructions to use it to make a banner about family. You could use pictures, stickers, markers, whatever. I promptly forgot about it until last night. After I got home from work I put it in front of her and instructed her to start drawing about her family. She promptly drew a frog. I pointed out that she did not have a frog in her family, and then she decided it was a dog. I pointed out again that she doesn't have a dog, and she sighed. "Well, you can just do this, then". No, that's not how it works. "It's a bird, then." she said. I told her wearily that she doesn't have a bird, and then she pointed to Brian's mother's bird (whose cage was immediately behind us, duh me). So she wrote "BIRD" and then "DANNY" in large letters. "I'm done!" she announced. No. Sigh.
I drew a small Bernardo family tree of those family members she is surrounded by the most (including her father, even though she sees him less than anyone else, ha). She was very surly. "Well what do I do now?" she grumped. I told her to think of fun things she does with people in her family, and draw pictures about that. We started with Maw-Maw. "What do you do with Maw-Maw?" She thought about that for a second and then her face lit up. "How do you spell Wal-Mart?" she asked. I snickered and told her, so for her Maw-Maw she made a Wal-Mart sign. For Paw-Paw she had me draw music notes, since they listen to music together. For Michelle she drew a house, since she loves to play at Auntie's house.For Uncle Joe she drew a planetarium, since he goes to school by the planetarium. For daddy, it got tough for some reason. So she just wrote "I LOVE DADDY". I had deliberately saved myself for last, and was all a-flutter wondering what she would draw. A book, since we read together? A pot or a pan, since we cook together? Something about painting? She instructed me not to look while she drew what reminds her of me. I waited anxiously, and she finally said I could look, and I looked down and there was.....a car. "Because we ride in the car so much together!" she explained. Oh. Huh. I mean, we do ride in the car a lot together, to and from school and whatnot, but I've never particularly thought of that as fun. Usually in the mornings we are grumpy and disgruntled with each other, and in the afternoons we are hot and I have to tell her that she can't do any of the things she wants to do and she gets grumpy again and I am usually miserably hot and feeling yucky and not the best company. Oh well.
She also amused me Tuesday afternoon. She was leaning against my belly and felt the baby kick. "what was that?" she asked. "That was Bun-Bun, kicking". "Really?" she asked, amazed. I told her if she held still she could probably feel it again, and she did. Then she leapt up and jumped onto the sofa beside me. "Open your mouth!" she ordered urgently. "Why?" I asked. "Just open your mouth!" So I did, and she leans forward and shouts into my open mouth, "BUN-BUN!" in a most urgent manner, almost like someone shouting down a mineshaft. It was very funny.
I guess that's enough 'funny stuff my kid said and/or did' for one day. I'm just looking forward to the weekend, where I will have Sunday and Monday off. Two days off consecutively! What's that like? I plan on spending some down time with Jacelyn (and not in the car), and then doing some packing. You can never be too ready! And if Brian has to live surrounded by boxes, maybe he will be in more of a hurry to leave his mother's house. I do not plan on that being an easy month for him, at all. Because I am evil and cunning. Have a happy and safe Labor Day weekend!
Friday, August 31, 2007
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
It's in the vault
Last night, after her shower, as Jacelyn was putting on her pajamas, she asked if she could stay up. I regretfully told her she could not, she had to get to bed. Next, in our little natural order of bedtime events, came tooth-brushing and hair drying. She saw the hair dryer on the counter and looked slightly panicked, and then hopped up into my lap. "I love school, mama" she cooed, hugging me. I was amused and decided to roll with it. "Oh really? What do you love about school?" And then she sang like a bird. She gave up information I have been asking about since the first day of school. She told me about why she doesn't play with some of her best friends from last year anymore, she told me she really, really loves her teacher, she counted to 50 by 5's (something she actually played dumb about when I asked her if she could do the other day), she told me what day it was and gave me the correct calender date. I was flabbergasted.
This is the same child who, in the car after school, can only offer up her morning trip to the bathroom that required some wiping assistance as the day's big event. "What else happened at school?" I will ask her. "Nothing." she will reply, shrugging and looking out the window. "What did you learn about?" I will continue, stubbornly. "Nothing" she responds again. "Who did you play with?" I will ask, chagrined. "My friends" she will answer, as though this should have been obvious. "Which friends?" I ask, a little desperately now. "You know, my friends." "But which one?" I will persist. "Madison" she answers, each time. Having heard this answer EVERY DAY since school started, I recently commented to Madison's mother on how much the two girls play together. Madison's mother said, "Really? Madison never says that she plays with Jacelyn. I even asked her the other day, and she said they don't see each other that often". I am getting the brush-off answer from my five year old! Ack!
That's OK, though. She needs her space, and her time, and things that stay hers. If she wants to keep information to herself, she can. I'll just remember to hit her up before bedtime every now and then so I can keep up.
This is the same child who, in the car after school, can only offer up her morning trip to the bathroom that required some wiping assistance as the day's big event. "What else happened at school?" I will ask her. "Nothing." she will reply, shrugging and looking out the window. "What did you learn about?" I will continue, stubbornly. "Nothing" she responds again. "Who did you play with?" I will ask, chagrined. "My friends" she will answer, as though this should have been obvious. "Which friends?" I ask, a little desperately now. "You know, my friends." "But which one?" I will persist. "Madison" she answers, each time. Having heard this answer EVERY DAY since school started, I recently commented to Madison's mother on how much the two girls play together. Madison's mother said, "Really? Madison never says that she plays with Jacelyn. I even asked her the other day, and she said they don't see each other that often". I am getting the brush-off answer from my five year old! Ack!
That's OK, though. She needs her space, and her time, and things that stay hers. If she wants to keep information to herself, she can. I'll just remember to hit her up before bedtime every now and then so I can keep up.
Lust for power: slaked (for now)
So. Tired. Not as tired as I was yesterday, but still pretty damn tired.
Yesterday was our first girl scout meeting. We combined the brownies and the daisies into one group and they all met together. This wasn't an official meeting, this was just a get together so the old girls could reunite and any new faces could get a taste of girl scouting and decide if they want to try it out.
I am leading the Daisy troop, with Michelle helping me. What started out as an itty bitty group of girls has now blossomed into 10 (only eight were there yesterday, though). At one point in the meeting, I looked down and there were eight little faces looking expectantly up at me, and the thought occurred to me: I have minions! Sweet! I have blue-smocked flying monkeys to do my evil bidding! It was only a temporary, amusing thought, but it made me laugh for the rest of the day.
In all seriousness, it went really well. It's a good group of girls who get along well and behave well and I think it's going to be a good year. Here's hoping.
Yesterday was our first girl scout meeting. We combined the brownies and the daisies into one group and they all met together. This wasn't an official meeting, this was just a get together so the old girls could reunite and any new faces could get a taste of girl scouting and decide if they want to try it out.
I am leading the Daisy troop, with Michelle helping me. What started out as an itty bitty group of girls has now blossomed into 10 (only eight were there yesterday, though). At one point in the meeting, I looked down and there were eight little faces looking expectantly up at me, and the thought occurred to me: I have minions! Sweet! I have blue-smocked flying monkeys to do my evil bidding! It was only a temporary, amusing thought, but it made me laugh for the rest of the day.
In all seriousness, it went really well. It's a good group of girls who get along well and behave well and I think it's going to be a good year. Here's hoping.
Monday, August 27, 2007
How do you spell relief? H-A-N-D-G-U-N
So much going on, my gracious, and I am stressed out. My blood pressure was a bit high at my last OB appointment, and he brought that up, and I said, "Well....." and then gave him the short version of my life right now. He was briefly speechless.
Brian is coming back. That's right, ladies and gentleman, Brian is making his triumphant return to home, hearth and family. Well, family, at least, there is no home. The end of September, around the 29th, is when he starts work. This is good, in many ways. This also will be a little bad, but mostly good. He wants to stay with his mother for one more month (just one more!) to get some extra money put back, which makes me want to throw a temper tantrum. I want to jump, and scream, and pull at my clothes and hair and say "NO NO NO NO NO I have done this for this long and you want me to do it longer, and with you around? NONONONONO". But, I won't do that. I have done it for this long; what is one more month? One more long, agonizing, month of no privacy, of arguments and and petty annoyances and the little things that, although small, make you want to scream and murder someone. One more month of my MIL making sure that I really did set the coffeepot for the next morning. One more month of her waiting until I go to bed and then adding things to Jacelyn's lunch that Jacelyn is not allowed to have at school (cookies, candy, sweets, etc). Just one more month. What's one more month? Sigh. Just a little more of the precious little sanity I have left. But that's OK - with kids and family, it helps to be crazy, and I am fortunate enough to live in the south, where we love our crazy people. It will be OK. Because it has to be.
I saw the OB on August 22nd. Weight is fine, the blood pressure a little high. Bun got stressed out trying to avoid the doppler and his/her heart rate increased while we were listening, which was rather cute and funny. My next appointment and my sonogram will be September 19th. That's a big day! Hopefully Bun will cooperate and we will be able to find out what we're having - boy, girl, banana, whatever. I want to know.
That's all for now. I'll get to Jen's tag when I can get to it - she's going to be too busy anyway, so she'll never notice.
Brian is coming back. That's right, ladies and gentleman, Brian is making his triumphant return to home, hearth and family. Well, family, at least, there is no home. The end of September, around the 29th, is when he starts work. This is good, in many ways. This also will be a little bad, but mostly good. He wants to stay with his mother for one more month (just one more!) to get some extra money put back, which makes me want to throw a temper tantrum. I want to jump, and scream, and pull at my clothes and hair and say "NO NO NO NO NO I have done this for this long and you want me to do it longer, and with you around? NONONONONO". But, I won't do that. I have done it for this long; what is one more month? One more long, agonizing, month of no privacy, of arguments and and petty annoyances and the little things that, although small, make you want to scream and murder someone. One more month of my MIL making sure that I really did set the coffeepot for the next morning. One more month of her waiting until I go to bed and then adding things to Jacelyn's lunch that Jacelyn is not allowed to have at school (cookies, candy, sweets, etc). Just one more month. What's one more month? Sigh. Just a little more of the precious little sanity I have left. But that's OK - with kids and family, it helps to be crazy, and I am fortunate enough to live in the south, where we love our crazy people. It will be OK. Because it has to be.
I saw the OB on August 22nd. Weight is fine, the blood pressure a little high. Bun got stressed out trying to avoid the doppler and his/her heart rate increased while we were listening, which was rather cute and funny. My next appointment and my sonogram will be September 19th. That's a big day! Hopefully Bun will cooperate and we will be able to find out what we're having - boy, girl, banana, whatever. I want to know.
That's all for now. I'll get to Jen's tag when I can get to it - she's going to be too busy anyway, so she'll never notice.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Looks like we made it
Well, the first day of school has come and gone. Jacelyn was a trooper this morning; she was actually somewhat horrified that I insisted on walking her up to her class. "Well, I see Savannah, I'm going to walk with her" she informed me, almost leaping out of the car before I had stopped it completely and running to meet her friend. So I stood and watched. She was on her best behavior and made me quite proud. She entered her new class with a little wave (that included a bit of a 'Shoo!' gesture that I chose to ignore) and there she was, my kindergartner, starting her first day.
Pickup went a LOT less smoothly. A bunch of the new parents crowded around the classroom door with videocameras and whatnot, waiting for their little genuises to emerge. This panicked the priest (who has a slight obsession with following proper pickup procedure), who called for Sister, who literally ran up to the classrooms and took over the proceedings. Father doesn't like it when we get out of our cars. Especially once the bell has rung. He is very clear on that, and will glower at you until you meekly return, thoroughly chastened, to the safety of your vehicle. The ensuing mayhem caused the kids to get out a little later than usual, with the first little ones being shepherded out fifteen minutes late. And the presence of Father and Sister made people think twice about their usual mad dash out of the parking lot. Father was yelling at people: "Stop! Where are you going, are you trying to kill someone?", and then in his next breath would screech, "Go! Go! You're holding up the line!". Everyone was confused, hot, and disgruntled, except the kids, who just wanted to go home and maybe have some lunch. Proving that children are basically OK until parents and administrators get overly involved, and we just make things difficult.
Jacelyn said K5 is fun. And then she gave me a very sly little "Guess who I sit by, mommy?" I asked "Who?". "I sit by a booooooy. And guess who sits in front of me?". "Who?" I ask, expecting maybe one of the Emily's or Jackie. "Another booooooooy". Oh, Lord. But she enjoyed herself and wants to go back tomorrow, so that's a good sign. Whew.
Pickup went a LOT less smoothly. A bunch of the new parents crowded around the classroom door with videocameras and whatnot, waiting for their little genuises to emerge. This panicked the priest (who has a slight obsession with following proper pickup procedure), who called for Sister, who literally ran up to the classrooms and took over the proceedings. Father doesn't like it when we get out of our cars. Especially once the bell has rung. He is very clear on that, and will glower at you until you meekly return, thoroughly chastened, to the safety of your vehicle. The ensuing mayhem caused the kids to get out a little later than usual, with the first little ones being shepherded out fifteen minutes late. And the presence of Father and Sister made people think twice about their usual mad dash out of the parking lot. Father was yelling at people: "Stop! Where are you going, are you trying to kill someone?", and then in his next breath would screech, "Go! Go! You're holding up the line!". Everyone was confused, hot, and disgruntled, except the kids, who just wanted to go home and maybe have some lunch. Proving that children are basically OK until parents and administrators get overly involved, and we just make things difficult.
Jacelyn said K5 is fun. And then she gave me a very sly little "Guess who I sit by, mommy?" I asked "Who?". "I sit by a booooooy. And guess who sits in front of me?". "Who?" I ask, expecting maybe one of the Emily's or Jackie. "Another booooooooy". Oh, Lord. But she enjoyed herself and wants to go back tomorrow, so that's a good sign. Whew.
Friday, August 03, 2007
Bla bla bla yakkity-yakkity
You know, the ticker on the right over here seemed like a cute idea at first, and it's nice to be able to come here and remind myself of exactly how far along I am and whatnot, but now it's starting to creep me out. That, and one time I stopped by and there was no baby in the circle, making me panic slightly before realizing how ridiculous it would be to panic over something that. Anyway, I may or may not remove it, but I do apologize for it being annoying/irritating/creepy/weird.
Back-to-school preparations for Jacelyn are progressing smoothly. There were some bumps in the road that have now smoothed out and we both anxiously await her return to class. I am not signing up for any volunteer work through the school this year - room mom or anything similar. Either you don't get called, or you get called for everything, and then you get volunteered for most activities anyway, so it doesn't matter if you don't sign up. And I'm not signing up for substitute lunch duty again, because I only got called late Sunday or even early Monday morning, and couldn't do it that day. I figure between girl scouts and having another child I'm going to be busy enough. I'll help where I can, but I would rather people have low expectations and be pleasantly surprised when I can do something, rather than always expect me to help and be disappointed when I can't. Low expectations are the key to happiness, people. I'm telling you. In some cases, I should say.
I'm a wreck right now. I have the normal pregnancy stuff going on, and then there's this whole Brian-may-not-be-able-to-come-back-before-the-baby-is-born thing happening that may OR may not cause Jacelyn and I to have to move there at the end of the year. New school, new doctor, new area, new stress, new everything. Not to mention new baby! Ack! I get palpitations just thinking about it. We're going to sort that out REAL soon, I'll tell you that. Moving a household of crap at eight months is NOT my idea of a fun time. I can't talk about it anymore, it's killing me.
I'm starting to feel the scribble-scrabble of fetal movement. Mostly in the car, but yesterday I had some pants on that had a waistline that dear little Bun apparently found uncomfortable and felt the need to jab at every time I sat down. That's really the coolest part of pregnancy, feeling the little boogar move around. Until they (and correspondingly, you) get all huge and then it can be uncomfortable. Or make you pee on yourself. Or talk out loud to your unborn child out of desperation: "OK, OK, I'll stand, I'll sit, I'll lie down, whatever, just please stop hitting me!". And despite the fact that in the third trimester it can feel more like abuse than activity, you still miss that sensation once the little one triumphantly emerges. This one seems to be a jabber, though. Jacelyn was more of a flutterer, but this one seems to prefer a good right hook or spinning kick to the gymnastics that Jacelyn seemed to enjoy while in utero.
My sonogram is coming up in mid-September - and I'm excited. I don't have an appointment yet, so I don't have an exact date - I'll set that up at my next appointment, which is sometime at the end of this month. I want to know. Everyone else wants to know. The Bernardos are DYING to know. Jacelyn doesn't really seem to care but says it would be nice to know so she could buy stuff (which means she will pick out items for Maw-Maw to buy). Of course, sonograms are no guarantee, I know that. With Jacelyn, I had a regular appointment four days before my sonogram and my doctor did an ultrasound then and announced her gender: "Oh, my, that's certainly a girl". Then, four days later at the big, official sonogram, Jacelyn was sleeping and not cooperative in the slightest, and they wouldn't say for certain what sex they thought she might be. If I hadn't had the earlier sonogram we wouldn't have known. So I know that there are no guarantees, but I'm hoping that we will be able to find out. For a while there I was having girl feelings, very strong girl feelings, but now I am not as sure. I'm not having boy feelings, either, so I can't call this one. The heartbeat has been fast every time it's been recorded, but that's more of an old wives tale than any kind of scientific fact - supposedly, faster heartbeat=boy, slower heartbeat=girl. And I can't remember Jacelyn's heartbeat - I think it was just average, but I can't recall for certain, so I really have no basis for comparison.
That's about it for me - that's it and that is enough.
Back-to-school preparations for Jacelyn are progressing smoothly. There were some bumps in the road that have now smoothed out and we both anxiously await her return to class. I am not signing up for any volunteer work through the school this year - room mom or anything similar. Either you don't get called, or you get called for everything, and then you get volunteered for most activities anyway, so it doesn't matter if you don't sign up. And I'm not signing up for substitute lunch duty again, because I only got called late Sunday or even early Monday morning, and couldn't do it that day. I figure between girl scouts and having another child I'm going to be busy enough. I'll help where I can, but I would rather people have low expectations and be pleasantly surprised when I can do something, rather than always expect me to help and be disappointed when I can't. Low expectations are the key to happiness, people. I'm telling you. In some cases, I should say.
I'm a wreck right now. I have the normal pregnancy stuff going on, and then there's this whole Brian-may-not-be-able-to-come-back-before-the-baby-is-born thing happening that may OR may not cause Jacelyn and I to have to move there at the end of the year. New school, new doctor, new area, new stress, new everything. Not to mention new baby! Ack! I get palpitations just thinking about it. We're going to sort that out REAL soon, I'll tell you that. Moving a household of crap at eight months is NOT my idea of a fun time. I can't talk about it anymore, it's killing me.
I'm starting to feel the scribble-scrabble of fetal movement. Mostly in the car, but yesterday I had some pants on that had a waistline that dear little Bun apparently found uncomfortable and felt the need to jab at every time I sat down. That's really the coolest part of pregnancy, feeling the little boogar move around. Until they (and correspondingly, you) get all huge and then it can be uncomfortable. Or make you pee on yourself. Or talk out loud to your unborn child out of desperation: "OK, OK, I'll stand, I'll sit, I'll lie down, whatever, just please stop hitting me!". And despite the fact that in the third trimester it can feel more like abuse than activity, you still miss that sensation once the little one triumphantly emerges. This one seems to be a jabber, though. Jacelyn was more of a flutterer, but this one seems to prefer a good right hook or spinning kick to the gymnastics that Jacelyn seemed to enjoy while in utero.
My sonogram is coming up in mid-September - and I'm excited. I don't have an appointment yet, so I don't have an exact date - I'll set that up at my next appointment, which is sometime at the end of this month. I want to know. Everyone else wants to know. The Bernardos are DYING to know. Jacelyn doesn't really seem to care but says it would be nice to know so she could buy stuff (which means she will pick out items for Maw-Maw to buy). Of course, sonograms are no guarantee, I know that. With Jacelyn, I had a regular appointment four days before my sonogram and my doctor did an ultrasound then and announced her gender: "Oh, my, that's certainly a girl". Then, four days later at the big, official sonogram, Jacelyn was sleeping and not cooperative in the slightest, and they wouldn't say for certain what sex they thought she might be. If I hadn't had the earlier sonogram we wouldn't have known. So I know that there are no guarantees, but I'm hoping that we will be able to find out. For a while there I was having girl feelings, very strong girl feelings, but now I am not as sure. I'm not having boy feelings, either, so I can't call this one. The heartbeat has been fast every time it's been recorded, but that's more of an old wives tale than any kind of scientific fact - supposedly, faster heartbeat=boy, slower heartbeat=girl. And I can't remember Jacelyn's heartbeat - I think it was just average, but I can't recall for certain, so I really have no basis for comparison.
That's about it for me - that's it and that is enough.
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