Bella's grades have dropped a little this term - not a whole lot, and not so much that I am very concerned, but I would rather nip issues in the bud before we have a big problem. We had a serious discussion in the car this evening about how important it is to do well in school, and to do the very best job you can, even if it seems hard, and so on and so forth.
I have been wracking my brain lately, trying to come up with ideas to make her summer reading more enjoyable for her and other ways to keep her reading and writing skills fresh over the summer. I was working on a blog post earlier and she came over to the computer and started asking questions about what I was doing and why, etc. Then she said, "I wish I could have a blog." I had an aha moment (don't sue me, Mutual of Omaha!) and told her that she could -thus, Bella on Books was born.
She was so excited about the idea that she hurried up and finished the book she was reading so she could write her first 'review'. I told her that she needs to write out her posts longhand first, so she will know what to type. So she will read (hooray!), she will write (awesome!) and she will type (woohoo!). All skills she can use when school starts again.
She helped me with the setup - she chose the template, and she ever-so-slowly pecked out the wording for her greeting. She even wrote her first review tonight. I am very interested to see how her writing will progress over the summer - if you look at the blog, her first post is perfunctory at best. But it was also a rush job, since she wanted to get it done before showering and bed.
She seems really excited about it, and if that is what it takes for her to get excited about reading and writing, then fine by me.
Speaking of school, Bella found the new year's tuition notice from her school. It was in her homework folder, and she thought it was for her and opened it. She asked me to explain it, so I did, telling her the number at the bottom was how much we paid per month for her to go to school. She was aghast, and then she said, "I can't believe you pay that much, mom! That is so much money!" (It's not THAT expensive, but any dollar amount greater than $5 is a lot of money to her). She then said, "Well, I wouldn't pay that much money". I told her she gets a very good education, and that combined with the religious education she is receiving makes it very much worth it to her father and I. She still wasn't convinced, but I told her she was worth every penny. Her reply? "That's an awful lot of pennies."
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
What's eating you?
Because something is eating Bubba. Mosquitoes, specifically. We live in swamp, so we are used to mosquitoes, but these are persistent mosquitoes who snuck into the house somehow. We don't leave the door open, but they sneak in on our clothing, or hurriedly fly in while we are coming or going. I should check our phone bill - I bet while we're out of the house they're making long distance phone calls and eating all of our Easter candy. Stupid bugs.
Bubba seems to be getting the worst of the bites, and they have been bad:
You can't really tell from this angle, but he has a bug bite on his eyelid that made his eye swell almost shut. You can see it better in the photo below:
It was HORRIBLE. He won't keep ice or a cold compress on it (which is really the only thing we can do at this point). Please ignore my messy fridge and my husband's overgrown goatee.
He has about six bites on the back of his neck. They seem to be going down rather quickly, giving me hope that the bite over his eye will settle down just as fast. And yes, he does need a haircut. But it will hurt me a little bit to cut off those curls.
He has another 5 or 6 bites on his torso, and one on each arm. This has all happened inside my house. That makes me feel terrible.
I made a desperate trip to Wal-Mart last night and picked up a couple of indoor pest repellent things that plug into the wall. I'm hoping those will work. And I have become very strict about the opening and closing of the front door or our sliding door. We open the door, dash out and close it quickly again, or vice versa. This morning Bella wanted to check the weather, and she was headed to the door when I said, "That's why we have the internet and the weather channel! Don't open the door!".
This, too, shall pass, I'm sure. As long as I stay vigilant about the doors we should be OK. This is just another reason to add the the already long list of reasons that I can't wait to get out of this apartment. In the meantime, if anyone can offer any advice for...
- keeping mosquitoes out of your home
- doing something about mosquitoes once they get inside your home
- natural anti-itch remedies
- a way to keep an ice pack or cold compress on a wriggly, stubborn 15-month old
...I would appreciate it. In the meantime we will make do. In an itchy kind of way.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Duly Noted
I had to go to the girl scout store the other day to get a few last minute items for the girls. And by a few last minute items I mean all the things I was supposed to be accumulating over the course of the year but didn't - I can procrastinate with the best of them, as long as I can do it tomorrow. They actually had everything I needed, so I happily went to the checkout counter and started digging in my purse for the troop checkbook. And I dug, and I dug, until I started to feel slightly panicky.
I excused myself to the woman behind the counter and went out to the car, frantically digging through all the trash in the floorboards and all the random stuff in the seats, until I remembered that I had put the checkbook in one of the bags I bring to meetings. I heaved a sigh of relief and went back inside, arranging to have my purchases held until the next day.
After work and dinner with my in-laws, I went home, got the kids settled in bed and went to get the checkbook from the bag. I encountered a slight problem when it was not there. So I did a little more digging, and a little more rifling, and every time I searched through something I would be absolutely certain that the checkbook had to be there, and then it wasn't. Anxiety building, I went back out to the car and did a cursory search, but still nothing.
I spent the rest of the evening, until 1AM, searching through various, assorted and very random places in my apartment ("Maybe it's in the vanity drawer in the master bathroom!"), and turned up nothing. I finally forced myself to go to bed, trying to reassure myself that it would turn up the next day. But I didn't manage to fall asleep, because I spent the next two hours doing this: "Ok, sleep, sleep, go to sleep....wait, maybe it's in the laundry room!" and then I would get up and search the laundry room, to no avail. Then I would lay back down and do it all over again: "Alright, going to sleep now....wait, what if I put it in my household binder? I bet that's where it is!" and so on and so on, until it was after 3AM and I was driving myself absolutely insane.
This morning dawned long before I was prepared for it, and after shuttling Bella off to school I settled back into my random searching of places-it-couldn't-possibly-be-but-I-hoped-beyond-hope it might be. After getting frustrated with the house, I decided to search the car again, so I grabbed Bubba and a lawn-sized garbage bag (my car was really filthy) and started cleaning out the car. Roughly a half hour and a stuffed full lawn-sized bag of trash later, I still couldn't find the checkbook. I had felt panicky before, but at that point I was officially panicking.
Losing my personal checkbook would have been stressful, but losing the scouts checkbook made me feel absolutely terrible. It's one thing to be irresponsible with your own things, but to be irresponsible with something that belongs to a bunch of little girls...that hurts. Those girls and their parents worked hard for that money, and it is entrusted to my care, and...well, I felt like I had let them down. I was also worried that I had dropped the checks somewhere and some less than honest person had found them. I wouldn't want to explain to sixteen young girls that they can't have a Build-A-Bear party because I lost their checks and someone stole their money. That would be disastrous.
I sat down on the sofa and decided to declare it officially lost. At that point I had been on the hunt for over twelve hours, and I saw no point in continuing. Small apartment, small car, only so many places to look. I had to 'fess up, and not only did I feel horribly guilty I felt kind of embarrassed. "Yeah, I know you trusted me with this hard earned money and stuff, and I'm a grown woman who should be able to manage such things, but I lost the checkbook. Some criminal probably picked it up somewhere and is at Rent-A-Center right now, writing a troop check for a big screen TV and a micro-suede couch. My bad."
I sat down at the computer and sent an e-mail to the leader in charge of finances, letting her know what I had managed to do and asking her to call me. I called one of the other leaders and told her about it, feeling utterly horrible about myself. While I was talking to her I realized that my cell phone was about to die, so I walked over to the charger and plugged it in. I was yammering about how bad I felt when I looked down at a box of girl scout stuff in front of me, a box of girl scout stuff I had emptied and searched through twice in the course of my search, and there was the missing checkbook. Not only right in front of my face, but even sticking out a half inch or so.
I think I was taught a lesson in humility today. I didn't find what I was missing until after I had to shamefacedly admit to others what I had done. Others whom I had been criticizing just the day before for (of all things!) their lack of organizational skills. I'm not suggesting divine intervention here or anything, I'm certain God is much too busy to come down, hide, and then later replace an item in an attempt to stop me from gossiping, but no matter why it happened, I'm picking up what was laid down.
Lesson learned.
I excused myself to the woman behind the counter and went out to the car, frantically digging through all the trash in the floorboards and all the random stuff in the seats, until I remembered that I had put the checkbook in one of the bags I bring to meetings. I heaved a sigh of relief and went back inside, arranging to have my purchases held until the next day.
After work and dinner with my in-laws, I went home, got the kids settled in bed and went to get the checkbook from the bag. I encountered a slight problem when it was not there. So I did a little more digging, and a little more rifling, and every time I searched through something I would be absolutely certain that the checkbook had to be there, and then it wasn't. Anxiety building, I went back out to the car and did a cursory search, but still nothing.
I spent the rest of the evening, until 1AM, searching through various, assorted and very random places in my apartment ("Maybe it's in the vanity drawer in the master bathroom!"), and turned up nothing. I finally forced myself to go to bed, trying to reassure myself that it would turn up the next day. But I didn't manage to fall asleep, because I spent the next two hours doing this: "Ok, sleep, sleep, go to sleep....wait, maybe it's in the laundry room!" and then I would get up and search the laundry room, to no avail. Then I would lay back down and do it all over again: "Alright, going to sleep now....wait, what if I put it in my household binder? I bet that's where it is!" and so on and so on, until it was after 3AM and I was driving myself absolutely insane.
This morning dawned long before I was prepared for it, and after shuttling Bella off to school I settled back into my random searching of places-it-couldn't-possibly-be-but-I-hoped-beyond-hope it might be. After getting frustrated with the house, I decided to search the car again, so I grabbed Bubba and a lawn-sized garbage bag (my car was really filthy) and started cleaning out the car. Roughly a half hour and a stuffed full lawn-sized bag of trash later, I still couldn't find the checkbook. I had felt panicky before, but at that point I was officially panicking.
Losing my personal checkbook would have been stressful, but losing the scouts checkbook made me feel absolutely terrible. It's one thing to be irresponsible with your own things, but to be irresponsible with something that belongs to a bunch of little girls...that hurts. Those girls and their parents worked hard for that money, and it is entrusted to my care, and...well, I felt like I had let them down. I was also worried that I had dropped the checks somewhere and some less than honest person had found them. I wouldn't want to explain to sixteen young girls that they can't have a Build-A-Bear party because I lost their checks and someone stole their money. That would be disastrous.
I sat down on the sofa and decided to declare it officially lost. At that point I had been on the hunt for over twelve hours, and I saw no point in continuing. Small apartment, small car, only so many places to look. I had to 'fess up, and not only did I feel horribly guilty I felt kind of embarrassed. "Yeah, I know you trusted me with this hard earned money and stuff, and I'm a grown woman who should be able to manage such things, but I lost the checkbook. Some criminal probably picked it up somewhere and is at Rent-A-Center right now, writing a troop check for a big screen TV and a micro-suede couch. My bad."
I sat down at the computer and sent an e-mail to the leader in charge of finances, letting her know what I had managed to do and asking her to call me. I called one of the other leaders and told her about it, feeling utterly horrible about myself. While I was talking to her I realized that my cell phone was about to die, so I walked over to the charger and plugged it in. I was yammering about how bad I felt when I looked down at a box of girl scout stuff in front of me, a box of girl scout stuff I had emptied and searched through twice in the course of my search, and there was the missing checkbook. Not only right in front of my face, but even sticking out a half inch or so.
I think I was taught a lesson in humility today. I didn't find what I was missing until after I had to shamefacedly admit to others what I had done. Others whom I had been criticizing just the day before for (of all things!) their lack of organizational skills. I'm not suggesting divine intervention here or anything, I'm certain God is much too busy to come down, hide, and then later replace an item in an attempt to stop me from gossiping, but no matter why it happened, I'm picking up what was laid down.
Lesson learned.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Makes My Monday: Grandparents Rock
Since I'm posting this so late I won't make it an official 'Makes My Monday' complete with logo - I think I'm coming in a little under the wire for that, but I wanted to share anyway:
I picked up the kids from my sister's house Saturday evening after getting off work. Normally we stay at my sister's house for a while, have dinner and hang out but since my nephew had a date (seriously!) that my sister was going to accompany him on we made other plans. When I first saw Bubba after work he had a drippy nose and was acting rather grumpy.
We decided to head over to my in-law's house, since my father-in-law had been out of town for the week and the kids wanted to see him. Paw-paw, as he is known to my kids, is a big deal to them - especially Bubba. My poor father-in-law has to sneak out of the house if he has to leave while we're there, otherwise Bubba is just utterly devastated.
We pulled up into the driveway and Paw-Paw was standing outside, watering plants. I got Bubba out of the car and let him walk over to my FIL, who stooped down and help his arms out. Bubba toddled up to him and climbed into his arms. "Bubba, you're not smiling!" my FIL commented, tickling him and spinning him around and doing whatever he could to try and coax a smile out of him, but poor Bubba was not in a smiling mood.
My FIL followed us inside the house, calling to my MIL, "Bubba won't smile!". She was alarmed - "Ooh, what's wrong with Maw-Maw's baby doll?" she cooed at him, making faces, trying anything to get him to smile, but he still would not. Bubba just laid back against his Paw-Paw, not looking around or getting down to play, just laying there and blankly watching television.
When I mentioned that my sister had told me he hadn't eaten much that day, they were horrified. Bubba is a voracious eater. My MIL promptly got up and warmed up some jambalaya for him - Bubba loves his rice. He ate a few bites and turned his nose up at it, sniffling and clinging to his Paw-Paw and just looking all-around pitiful.
We had not planned to stay long, because my in-laws were planning on going to dinner and then the grocery store. I tried to tell them that I would get him to eat at home so they could go and do what they had planned to do, but they would have none of it. My MIL started rifling through her kitchen, trying to figure out what Bubba might eat. While she was in there Bella asked if she could have some pancakes and bacon. I was horrified, and quickly told Bella that she could eat at home, but again, they would have none of it. My MIL promptly whipped up some pancakes and cooked some bacon.
Bella sat down to eat and Bubba was looking pretty interested in her pancakes, so my MIL fixed a plate for him. She sat down on the couch, put him on her knee and speared pancake pieces on her fork, giving it to him to feed himself. And he did! And ate two pancakes. He got my MIL all sticky from the syrup, but she didn't care. She fed him, wiped him down, gave him a cookie, and before too much longer he was back to his normal self, running around the house and making a mess. My FIL took him out on the front porch (that he built just so Bubba would have a place outside to run around) and they played with a ball out there until I could get all of our stuff together and get ready to leave.
It was amazing - they hadn't eaten dinner themselves, they had things they needed to do, my FIL had been on a plane all day, and yet they were more worried about making sure my kids were happy than their own situation. I love my in-laws, and we are all very fortunate to have them in our lives. And THAT is why grandparents make my Monday.
I picked up the kids from my sister's house Saturday evening after getting off work. Normally we stay at my sister's house for a while, have dinner and hang out but since my nephew had a date (seriously!) that my sister was going to accompany him on we made other plans. When I first saw Bubba after work he had a drippy nose and was acting rather grumpy.
We decided to head over to my in-law's house, since my father-in-law had been out of town for the week and the kids wanted to see him. Paw-paw, as he is known to my kids, is a big deal to them - especially Bubba. My poor father-in-law has to sneak out of the house if he has to leave while we're there, otherwise Bubba is just utterly devastated.
We pulled up into the driveway and Paw-Paw was standing outside, watering plants. I got Bubba out of the car and let him walk over to my FIL, who stooped down and help his arms out. Bubba toddled up to him and climbed into his arms. "Bubba, you're not smiling!" my FIL commented, tickling him and spinning him around and doing whatever he could to try and coax a smile out of him, but poor Bubba was not in a smiling mood.
My FIL followed us inside the house, calling to my MIL, "Bubba won't smile!". She was alarmed - "Ooh, what's wrong with Maw-Maw's baby doll?" she cooed at him, making faces, trying anything to get him to smile, but he still would not. Bubba just laid back against his Paw-Paw, not looking around or getting down to play, just laying there and blankly watching television.
When I mentioned that my sister had told me he hadn't eaten much that day, they were horrified. Bubba is a voracious eater. My MIL promptly got up and warmed up some jambalaya for him - Bubba loves his rice. He ate a few bites and turned his nose up at it, sniffling and clinging to his Paw-Paw and just looking all-around pitiful.
We had not planned to stay long, because my in-laws were planning on going to dinner and then the grocery store. I tried to tell them that I would get him to eat at home so they could go and do what they had planned to do, but they would have none of it. My MIL started rifling through her kitchen, trying to figure out what Bubba might eat. While she was in there Bella asked if she could have some pancakes and bacon. I was horrified, and quickly told Bella that she could eat at home, but again, they would have none of it. My MIL promptly whipped up some pancakes and cooked some bacon.
Bella sat down to eat and Bubba was looking pretty interested in her pancakes, so my MIL fixed a plate for him. She sat down on the couch, put him on her knee and speared pancake pieces on her fork, giving it to him to feed himself. And he did! And ate two pancakes. He got my MIL all sticky from the syrup, but she didn't care. She fed him, wiped him down, gave him a cookie, and before too much longer he was back to his normal self, running around the house and making a mess. My FIL took him out on the front porch (that he built just so Bubba would have a place outside to run around) and they played with a ball out there until I could get all of our stuff together and get ready to leave.
It was amazing - they hadn't eaten dinner themselves, they had things they needed to do, my FIL had been on a plane all day, and yet they were more worried about making sure my kids were happy than their own situation. I love my in-laws, and we are all very fortunate to have them in our lives. And THAT is why grandparents make my Monday.
Friday, May 08, 2009
Happy Friday
I don't have much to say - I'm tired and worn out, so instead of being negative and grumping about all that I am going to suggest that you go and visit Aimee's blog and read her post about her son. I dare you not to be moved. After reading that, there is nothing I could possibly write that would seem even remotely adequate.
Sunday, May 03, 2009
Bummer
'The Hyper Homemaker', a recent discovery of mine, has deleted her blog. She didn't leave it up and stop posting to it, she flat out deleted it. She mentioned something about a book offer, so I suppose you can't really write a book about homemaking and expect people to buy it when you have all the info up on the web for free. That whole 'no one will buy the cow' thing, I suppose. My first thought was - she totally sold out. And my second thought was, ah, but so would I. So there you go, then.
I've got a lot of personal irons in the fire, lately. A lot of little projects around the house that are waiting for just a little more attention so they can take off. I'm finally making a household binder, for one. Which, once completed, will be a lovely resource for my household, but right now it's just not good enough. I'm so weird like that - "No, I can't use this until I center that title" or "Oh, I misspelled that sub-heading, so I'll have to wait and reprint it" or other such nonsense.
I've been thinking a lot about my health and my diet, and also the kids' diets. Heart disease is rampant in my family, along with diabetes and high blood pressure and all sorts of other things. I actually have PVC's, generally harmless heart palpitations that, while harmless when unaccompanied by other problems, can signal trouble ahead. I know I need to eat better and take better care of myself. I've been doing a lot of reading, both books and information online, and I'm thinking about going vegetarian, then eventually vegan. I am not saying I will never eat meat again - I just don't think I could do that, but I do plan on eating it very infrequently. I've been sort of sneakily introducing meatless meals for a while now, and while the kids and I don't have an issue with it, I can't make too many in a row before Brian and my grandfather start to complain.
Bella has long been sort of a vegetarian - the only meat she eats is in cheeseburger or nugget form, and Bubba is a vegetarian at this time because he considers himself above baby food and will only eat table food, and most meats are a little too much for his chewing/swallowing skills at this point in time. I have done a lot of reading about children's nutritional needs, as well. I'm not forcing this on the kids, and if at any point they want to eat meat that is fine with me, but they aren't eating meat now anyway, so it makes sense to try and make the changes necessary to ensure they are getting the nutrients they need. I'm going to talk all this over with their doctors at their next check-up, of course, but I feel better knowing more about what their bodies need and how to get it into them.
This week I am embarking on my adventures in herbivorism. Is that a word? I am planning on doing all this slowly - phasing out certain things, phasing in certain things. I am excited about it, actually, because I'm really hoping it will make a difference and make me feel better. I bought groceries tonight and I did buy some meat that I can add into my menu for whomever wants it, so I'm hoping that I'll be able to make everyone happy. I might blog about my dietary changes ocassionally, more for a record for myself than anything else. Ooo, and then maybe I can get a book deal! Awesome! And one day you will attempt to stop by my blog and it will say "This blog has been deleted because the user totally sold out".
I've got a lot of personal irons in the fire, lately. A lot of little projects around the house that are waiting for just a little more attention so they can take off. I'm finally making a household binder, for one. Which, once completed, will be a lovely resource for my household, but right now it's just not good enough. I'm so weird like that - "No, I can't use this until I center that title" or "Oh, I misspelled that sub-heading, so I'll have to wait and reprint it" or other such nonsense.
I've been thinking a lot about my health and my diet, and also the kids' diets. Heart disease is rampant in my family, along with diabetes and high blood pressure and all sorts of other things. I actually have PVC's, generally harmless heart palpitations that, while harmless when unaccompanied by other problems, can signal trouble ahead. I know I need to eat better and take better care of myself. I've been doing a lot of reading, both books and information online, and I'm thinking about going vegetarian, then eventually vegan. I am not saying I will never eat meat again - I just don't think I could do that, but I do plan on eating it very infrequently. I've been sort of sneakily introducing meatless meals for a while now, and while the kids and I don't have an issue with it, I can't make too many in a row before Brian and my grandfather start to complain.
Bella has long been sort of a vegetarian - the only meat she eats is in cheeseburger or nugget form, and Bubba is a vegetarian at this time because he considers himself above baby food and will only eat table food, and most meats are a little too much for his chewing/swallowing skills at this point in time. I have done a lot of reading about children's nutritional needs, as well. I'm not forcing this on the kids, and if at any point they want to eat meat that is fine with me, but they aren't eating meat now anyway, so it makes sense to try and make the changes necessary to ensure they are getting the nutrients they need. I'm going to talk all this over with their doctors at their next check-up, of course, but I feel better knowing more about what their bodies need and how to get it into them.
This week I am embarking on my adventures in herbivorism. Is that a word? I am planning on doing all this slowly - phasing out certain things, phasing in certain things. I am excited about it, actually, because I'm really hoping it will make a difference and make me feel better. I bought groceries tonight and I did buy some meat that I can add into my menu for whomever wants it, so I'm hoping that I'll be able to make everyone happy. I might blog about my dietary changes ocassionally, more for a record for myself than anything else. Ooo, and then maybe I can get a book deal! Awesome! And one day you will attempt to stop by my blog and it will say "This blog has been deleted because the user totally sold out".
My Favorite
Thanks to Laura from Catholic Teacher Musings for hosting this today, in honor of World Prayer for Vocations.
I have only been Catholic for a couple of years now, so my experience with priests is rather limited, but there is one priest who had an enormous impact on me.
I encountered some issues over the course of my RCIA classes and at one point it actually looked like I wouldn't be able to be confirmed and welcomed into the Church. Msgr. Reed, the priest at the parish my sponsor attends, helped me with these issues and it is because of him that I was able (and chose!) to move ahead with the process. I was discouraged and dejected and he stepped in and helped me.
I had always been fond of him even before he came to my rescue, so to speak. He is an incredible speaker, and when I look back on my time in RCIA a lot of the words that stuck with me came from him. He can inject a little hellfire and brimstone into his homilies from time to time, and as a convert from the baptist faith I appreciate that - it makes me nostalgic. :-)
I have seen Msgr. Reed since then, and he always recognizes me and greets me warmly. I don't attend his parish but I have seen and heard enough about his actions to know that he is a good, kind and generous man who lives as a model of his faith. And he kept me from losing mine. So thank you and God bless, Msgr. Reed!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Not sure what to think
Bella came home with a behavior report today - a bad one. She was talking too much (we get reports of that once every couple of weeks or so) and that she wouldn't stay in her seat (that one was new). We discussed it with Bella at length, and told her that she would be punished at home, to which she replied that she had been punished at school. I told her that was only fair, and she said: "My teacher told the class to give me and (another student) a round of applause since, because of us, the whole class lost recess for 13 days".
I don't really like that she is doling out a group punishment with the blame placed on two children that she named to the class. It isn't fair to the other students, for one. I agree that Bella needed to be punished, go ahead and use her as an example, certainly - if you want to tell the class that because of the way she acted Bella lost recess for 13 days, that's fine with me. But to name her and another student specifically and point out that it is their fault that the entire class lost recess - and for 13 days, which seems like a long time - well, I don't think that is appropriate. I would guess that the point of a group punishment would be the hope that other class members would try and encourage the students to stop misbehaving, but I think that is a little over the head of first graders. For older children, I could see how that could work - with older children, peer pressure is a huge incentive, so risking the displeasure of fellow students is anathema.
I also know that self-preservation is a strong instinct, especially among children, so there is always the possibility that Bella is not telling the truth. However, I don't think she could make up the phrases that she used - 'round of applause' is not in Bella's vocabulary. And I asked her the one question that is guaranteed to eke the truth out of her - "If I go ask (teacher's name) whether that happened, will she tell me the same thing you just told me?". Bella normally crumbles under such logic, but when I said that tonight she just said, "Yes, that's what she said - you can ask her". Hmm.
My first thought was to send an e-mail to the teacher, thanking her for letting us know about Bella's behavior and letting her know that we are working to correct it, and then nicely asking the teacher about the situation. I'm not going to CC the principal or anything, and I'm not expecting anything to come of it, but I would like her to know that I think there is possibly a more appropriate way to handle that situation. But I am going to wait until tomorrow - I'm going to sleep on it.
I must add that, while this would bother me slightly under normal circumstances, I wouldn't be so troubled by it if my husband had not mentioned it to his parents. They were immensely bothered by it, thus making my position a little more awkward. My FIL even asked if I wanted him to handle it - I quickly assured him that would not be necessary, and that I would take care of it. Don't mess with their grandbabies!
Sigh. It will all work out - I'm sure of it. Small potatoes, as my Grandma would say. Don't sweat the small stuff. I'm going to lay on the sofa and read and forget about all of this. Good night!
**UPDATE: I didn't do anything. Sending an e-mail would have accomplished nothing. I could express to her that I felt her actions to be innappropriate, and it would change nothing. It's almost the end of the year, anyway - Bella has another month or so in this teacher's class, so there doesn't seem to be much of a point in stirring the pot. No hard feelings, just glad that this school year is drawing to a close. It's almost over!
I don't really like that she is doling out a group punishment with the blame placed on two children that she named to the class. It isn't fair to the other students, for one. I agree that Bella needed to be punished, go ahead and use her as an example, certainly - if you want to tell the class that because of the way she acted Bella lost recess for 13 days, that's fine with me. But to name her and another student specifically and point out that it is their fault that the entire class lost recess - and for 13 days, which seems like a long time - well, I don't think that is appropriate. I would guess that the point of a group punishment would be the hope that other class members would try and encourage the students to stop misbehaving, but I think that is a little over the head of first graders. For older children, I could see how that could work - with older children, peer pressure is a huge incentive, so risking the displeasure of fellow students is anathema.
I also know that self-preservation is a strong instinct, especially among children, so there is always the possibility that Bella is not telling the truth. However, I don't think she could make up the phrases that she used - 'round of applause' is not in Bella's vocabulary. And I asked her the one question that is guaranteed to eke the truth out of her - "If I go ask (teacher's name) whether that happened, will she tell me the same thing you just told me?". Bella normally crumbles under such logic, but when I said that tonight she just said, "Yes, that's what she said - you can ask her". Hmm.
My first thought was to send an e-mail to the teacher, thanking her for letting us know about Bella's behavior and letting her know that we are working to correct it, and then nicely asking the teacher about the situation. I'm not going to CC the principal or anything, and I'm not expecting anything to come of it, but I would like her to know that I think there is possibly a more appropriate way to handle that situation. But I am going to wait until tomorrow - I'm going to sleep on it.
I must add that, while this would bother me slightly under normal circumstances, I wouldn't be so troubled by it if my husband had not mentioned it to his parents. They were immensely bothered by it, thus making my position a little more awkward. My FIL even asked if I wanted him to handle it - I quickly assured him that would not be necessary, and that I would take care of it. Don't mess with their grandbabies!
Sigh. It will all work out - I'm sure of it. Small potatoes, as my Grandma would say. Don't sweat the small stuff. I'm going to lay on the sofa and read and forget about all of this. Good night!
**UPDATE: I didn't do anything. Sending an e-mail would have accomplished nothing. I could express to her that I felt her actions to be innappropriate, and it would change nothing. It's almost the end of the year, anyway - Bella has another month or so in this teacher's class, so there doesn't seem to be much of a point in stirring the pot. No hard feelings, just glad that this school year is drawing to a close. It's almost over!
Saturday, April 25, 2009
In need of thoughts, input and advice
I would greatly appreciate some input from anyone who has experience with Catholic schools, in whatever capacity. Specifically I am wondering about band and/or orchestra programs in Catholic schools. Heck, in any private school (except PCA). If you know the answers (and I fully realize you may not, and that's OK), I would love to hear from you. What I am wondering is:
- Does your Catholic school have a band or orchestra program?
- If so, does it operate strictly within the school, or is it parish or diocese-wide?
- Is there a charge for participating?
- Do the classes take place during the school day or is it an after school program?
I am asking all of this because Bella's music teacher left the school, leaving a small band class high and dry and with no other options. She also forced the cancellation of the school's spring musical. Bella has been at this school for three years. In those three years she has had 5 different music teachers. Two of those teachers left during the school year, both of them abandoning a band program that the teacher who followed them could not teach.
In my opinion, it would be beneficial for both the students and the school(s) to offer a band program. So I am doing some reading and research right now to try and look into other options for offering band classes. I would greatly appreciate any information anyone could give me - if you don't feel like commenting feel free to send me an e-mail. Thanks!
Sunday, April 19, 2009
And we're back!
I miss the family being all together, and I miss my gorgeous, sweet little niece, but I am glad to be home. I have edited this post multiple times throughout the course of the day, but keep ending up being waaaay too wordy, so I decided to break it down:
The trip up: Loooong. We got on the road around 5:30pm on a Friday night, and got there around 12pm Saturday. Bella and I were crammed into two tiny seats in the back of the SUV we rented, but we enjoyed ourselves despite being surrounded by all the stuff that didn't fit into the roof rack. I did not sleep at all, because I was worried about Brian driving, since he only had bout 5 hours of sleep under his belt. But we made it!
My niece: Absolutely gorgeous, adorably cute, captured my heart at first sight.
Bubba felt the same way, apparently, because he smooched all over the baby. Everytime he walked by her he had to stop and give her some spitty kisses:
Our sleeping arrangements: My in-laws slept in the master bedroom; my sister-in-law, her husband and their baby slept in the baby's room, and my little family slept on the living room floor or on the couch or loveseat. It was difficult because Bubba would just wander around playing until he collapased from exhaustion, then he would be out of sorts. And stayed out of sorts for the better part of the trip. But all of the family was together, and that is what mattered.
Easter Sunday: A good day. We went to the base church for mass. The service was lovely. Bubba slept through it, but Bella dissolved into tears halfway through, I think because she was tired. The music director accidentally turned her microphone on about ten minutes before the service started, so we got to listen to her correct some intonation issues, ask the piano player if she was playing the same song the choir was singing, and then, possibly as a grand finale, burp. Bless her heart. Anyway, it was a good day, all around.
Children's Museum: Fun. Educational. Some of the better exhibits were broken, but I think you have to take into consideration that, being a children's museum, things are bound to break or be broken on fairly regular basis. Bella was fascinated by most of the displays. Bubba was bored until we got to the under-3 play area and then he ran around like a fiend before staking out the top of a climbing toy as his spot.
Virginia Aquarium: Lovely. I was smitten with the sea turtles, Bella loved the seahorses, and Bubba was very, very grumpy. I actually bought him a crab stuffed animal as a souvenir, because it fit his personality that day. Bella discovered a love of spiders, which was interesting. She was actually afraid of the sea turtles - I asked her to stand in front of the tank to take a picture, because there was a turtle slightly bigger than her floating right beside her, but she said she didn't like turning her back on it. I don't know what she thought it might do, but we did get the picture - Bella looks scared, and the sea turtle is swimming off, probably disgusted at the implication.
Colonial Williamsburg: Just as wonderful as I remember it. I could have spent days there, days and days, but Bubba was unhappy and Bella's feet were tired after an hour of walking. We did stay for a few hours, though, and Bella learned quite a bit. I just can't say enough good things about it - I would go back tomorrow, if I could. If it wasn't 16 hours away.
The dress is a period costume rented from the visitor's center, the jeans and Hanna Montana shoes are NOT period dress but it was too cold to roll them up and I wasn't buying new shoes. Despite the odd mix of old and new AND the fact that there were tons of other children roaming around in costume, we were stopped multiple times by people who wanted to take Bella's picture.
The trip home: Long and agonizing. I was able to sleep, which helped. Bella and I, once again crammed into the back of the truck, were close enough to each other to have the following conversation:
Bella: "Mom, you have a hair growing out of your chin"
Me: "Yeah, that happens sometimes when you get older"
Bella: "I'll get it" and then leaned over and yanked the hair out. "Mom, are you growing a mustache?"
Me: "It's not a mustache, Bella, it's just fuzz. Why don't you read? Where's your Junie B Jones book?"
Bella: "But I'm just wondering, why would you want to grow a mustache?"
Me: "Where's your gameboy?"
Bella: "Are you going to grow it out like Dad's, in a goat?" (meaning goatee)
Me: "Find something to do other than look at me, Bella"
She eventually did read, and finished off the novelization of 'Barbie and the Diamond Castle'. She is a zippy reader!
We left Virginia around 12PM on Friday afternoon and arrived back home around 4:30am Saturday morning. After unloading the car, I ran to the store to get groceries, then came back home and attempted to sort suitcases and other things out, then dropped the kids off at my sister's house and was at work by 10Am. Whew!
Some other random thoughts:
I am sooo glad we had the GPS unit my sister gave us for Christmas. Even with the GPS, we still got lost a few times, but it would have been much worse, otherwise. On that note, does anyone remember AAA triptiks? I remember when I was a kid we would get a triptik to go anywhere. It was a little comb bound book that showed your route via multiple pages of maps, and construction areas were stamped on in red, and rest stops, etc. Old school!
Bubba threw horrible tantrums the whole time we were gone. Hitting, kicking, throwing himself to the ground, screaming. An amplified version of his normal behavior. I'm really, really hoping it was because he was so tired and off his schedule, because otherwise I will never be able to take him anywhere. I haven't really taken him anywhere since we got home, actually, because I'm sort of scared. Bella never threw tantrums, so this is very new to me. I just don't know what to do when he does that. My instinct is to remove him from the situation, which is usually inconvenient or rude if not both, but that's the best I can come up with for now.
Before we left for this trip I was mulling over some changes that I need to make in my life, for my own good and for the good of my family. I am going to steal a page from Jennifer over at the Conversion Diary and make this time after Easter like a mini-new year, a time to re-evaluate, assess and make changes. I have a lot of ideas, of course, but one concern I have had for a while now is the amount of television that Bella watches. And not only does she watch a lot, she is a TV zombie - when she is engrossed in a show you can't talk to her or tell her anything, because she won't hear it.
Before we left for this trip I was mulling over some changes that I need to make in my life, for my own good and for the good of my family. I am going to steal a page from Jennifer over at the Conversion Diary and make this time after Easter like a mini-new year, a time to re-evaluate, assess and make changes. I have a lot of ideas, of course, but one concern I have had for a while now is the amount of television that Bella watches. And not only does she watch a lot, she is a TV zombie - when she is engrossed in a show you can't talk to her or tell her anything, because she won't hear it.
For that reason, and since the timing worked out so well, we are going to participate in TV Turnoff Week. And since I'm ripping off other bloggers' ideas, I'm going to borrow the idea (and the image) from Unplug Your Kids to take that one step further and include ALL screen time in that turnoff. So I am going to try and avoid the computer during the times I am at home. I probably won't be posting until the week is over, but lately I haven't been posting that frequently anyway. I'll still be able to check and comment on blogs from work, though, which makes me feel better. Wish me luck!
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
I'm (almost) out
My head is spinning with preparations for our upcoming trip. We are actually setting out Friday evening, in the hopes that we can put a few hundred miles behind us under the cover of darkness while Bubba snoozes. Eventually he will wake up, and then he will protest, vigorously and loudly, his entrapment in the car seat, so we want to avoid as much of that as we can. Alas, Bubba is not a car seat baby. Five minute trips to WalMart make him quite unhappy, so I can just imagine how he will feel about a sixteen hour jaunt up the east coast. I think Bella will do well - she has been on long car trips before, and we will be loaded up on the entertainment options - lots of chapter books and puzzle books, and her gameboy and the portable DVD player - so she will be busy and happy. Bubba, however - different story. My in-laws, who are making the trip with us, are considerably more stressed by listening to Bubba yowl from the backseat, so I'm certain they will insist on stopping more frequently. Which is fine by me, but my husband is one of those people who hates stopping on long trips, so this should be interesting.
I jokingly - well, half jokingly - asked my husband if someone could just do a 'Mr. T' (hopefully someone will get the A-Team reference) for myself and Bubba - you know, just give us something to knock us out until we get where we are going, but he did not seem to think that was the best idea. I'm betting somewhere around South Carolina he might change his mind. I don't sleep well in cars, and I tend to get a bit queasy riding in the backseat of a car - not full on, bring-me-a-bucket car sick, just uncomfortable-and-slightly-grumpy-nausea.
I am packing and frantically cleaning the house, so that when we arrive home exhausted and bearing multiple loads of dirty laundry, the house won't already be a mess. And also so that my sister and nephew, who will be feeding our fish while we are gone, won't think that we are disgusting people who live like animals. My problem is that I am packing and frantically cleaning while also working, so I have been up until at least 1AM every night this week. Maybe I will accumulate such sleep debt that I will conk out in the car anyway. Hey, there's the upside to this whole lack-of-sleep thing!
I am getting excited about this trip - I get to meet my new niece, whom I plan to spoil relentlessly - as much as you can spoil a 2-month old infant, anyway. I get to hang out with my SIL and her husband, and take the kids to new places....it will be fun. It will all be worth 16 hours in a car with my children and my MIL and FIL. It will all be worth it. :-)
My sister-in-law does not have a computer nor we will really be anywhere with access to one, so I will be away from the internet for (gasp!) the entirety of our trip - roughly eight days or so. That has crossed my mind more than I would like to admit, so maybe I need a break. More than once I have felt a little concerned about my e-mail languishing unread, both work and personal, and about the blog posts I would miss reading and all the other little things I count on towaste time instead of doing housework keep me entertained, amused and in touch. But, it will all be there when I get back, and it will do me some good to get away.
I want to wish everyone a happy and blessed Easter! I will be in church on Sunday with the whole family, together again. Exciting!
I jokingly - well, half jokingly - asked my husband if someone could just do a 'Mr. T' (hopefully someone will get the A-Team reference) for myself and Bubba - you know, just give us something to knock us out until we get where we are going, but he did not seem to think that was the best idea. I'm betting somewhere around South Carolina he might change his mind. I don't sleep well in cars, and I tend to get a bit queasy riding in the backseat of a car - not full on, bring-me-a-bucket car sick, just uncomfortable-and-slightly-grumpy-nausea.
I am packing and frantically cleaning the house, so that when we arrive home exhausted and bearing multiple loads of dirty laundry, the house won't already be a mess. And also so that my sister and nephew, who will be feeding our fish while we are gone, won't think that we are disgusting people who live like animals. My problem is that I am packing and frantically cleaning while also working, so I have been up until at least 1AM every night this week. Maybe I will accumulate such sleep debt that I will conk out in the car anyway. Hey, there's the upside to this whole lack-of-sleep thing!
I am getting excited about this trip - I get to meet my new niece, whom I plan to spoil relentlessly - as much as you can spoil a 2-month old infant, anyway. I get to hang out with my SIL and her husband, and take the kids to new places....it will be fun. It will all be worth 16 hours in a car with my children and my MIL and FIL. It will all be worth it. :-)
My sister-in-law does not have a computer nor we will really be anywhere with access to one, so I will be away from the internet for (gasp!) the entirety of our trip - roughly eight days or so. That has crossed my mind more than I would like to admit, so maybe I need a break. More than once I have felt a little concerned about my e-mail languishing unread, both work and personal, and about the blog posts I would miss reading and all the other little things I count on to
I want to wish everyone a happy and blessed Easter! I will be in church on Sunday with the whole family, together again. Exciting!
Saturday, April 04, 2009
Trouble, with a capital 'T'
Tonight I was cleaning up once the kids were in bed, and I was so amused by the mess Bubba left behind that I had to document it. The picture below was taken earlier this week, but I think that smile says it all:
I must disclaimer: my floor is messy from Bubba and the random little things he picks up and then drops. I promise we aren't living in squalor over here, despite how it might appear.
Little known fact: like a good white wine, some toys are better if chilled slightly - the bottom shelf of the fridge is the perfect place.
Shoes can double as storage! Who knew!
Hate the nasal aspirator? Then sneak it out of the diaper bag when mom isn't looking and hide it under the sofa cushions! (I was looking for the cordless phone when I encountered these)
Is it a golf club or a toilet tissue holder? It's both!
I can honestly say that is rarely a dull moment with Bubba around. Every day is an adventure.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
When you don't have anything nice to say.....
We had to finish up our taxes yesterday - my hubby had them started but didn't have all the documents he needed, so once he picked Bella up from school he headed over to the tax preparers office with the understanding that I would follow along once I got off work.
Brian had both kids with him, and as I made the half-hour drive to meet up with them I remember wondering to myself - how on earth is he going to keep them busy? My question was answered when I arrived and saw Bella happily slurping from a 20-oz. orange soda and eating doritos and M&Ms. Bubba had a bottle half full of orange soda (yes, I was horrified) and was eating M&Ms that Brian was crushing for him, apparently so he wouldn't choke. How very thoughtful.
I got there just as the kids were finishing the snacks that their father had so thoughtfully provided for them. I sat down at the other chair in the little cubicle and the children proceeded to go absolutely insane - they were all hopped up on candy and soda, and apparently the excitement of seeing old mom after a day away was just to much to bear.
They started pushing and shoving each other to get to me, and then there was a fight over who got to sit in my lap. Bubba won, eventually, and proceeded to alternately shove his approaching sister in the face and yank on the cord of the printer that was beside us. I was trying to keep him contained when Bella grabbed a pair of scissors off the desk and started waving them around like some sort of scissor-armed swashbuckler. I took the scissors away and while I was distracted with that Bubba knocked down a pen caddy, sending roughly two dozen pens clattering to the floor. I was trying to pick up the pens and keep Bubba from them, so he started screaming and kicked his sister in the face, who started whining. When I sat back up to put the pens back on the desk our tax preparer said, "Wow, your kids were so much better behaved before you got here. I guess Daddy is the disciplinarian in this family".
I couldn't even say anything to respond to that. At first I wanted to defend myself ("They were good for him because he was giving them soda and candy!"), then I decided to ignore it, then I wanted to say something snide, but in the end I said nothing at all. I felt utterly defeated. Eventually I just let it go, but not before sulking about it for a little while. Maybe it's just me, but I don't think that is the kind of thing you should say to someone. Especially not someone who is about to write you a check for a rather large sum of money for your services.
I seem to fall back on my 'say nothing' strategy quite often. It doesn't make me feel any better, but I don't always trust myself to have a kind reply.
Brian did get his comeuppance, however, for allowing the rampant sugar intake: halfway through his bottle of orange soda, Bubba threw up all over him. And orange soda baby throw-up is smelly, let me assure you.
We are getting ready for our vacation - we leave a week from Friday! This is our first family vacation ever - not just our first with Bubba. We have gone to visit family either in southern Florida or over in Louisiana, but for some reason it was always Bella and myself or Bella and Brian, never all of us together. And not only will it be my little family, but my mother-in-law and father-in-law are going, too. My sister-in-law moved to Virginia Beach last year, so we will be visiting with her, her husband and my new niece, who I just can't wait to meet and spoil. And we will all be together for Easter, which will be nice.
We are planning on visiting Colonial Williamsburg (we are going to rent a costume for Bella so she can walk around in period dress), checking out the VA Beach Aquarium and hitting up a really cool children's museum that is nearby. It should be lots of fun. I loved Williamsburg, so I'm excited to go back. It's going to be a big trip and a fun trip.
I bought a new book the other day to read in the car, and it's killing me to have a new book that I can't read. I actually made Brian hide it from me today, just so I can't get to it. And on that note, I'm off to find something to read. If only I knew where he hid that book....
Brian had both kids with him, and as I made the half-hour drive to meet up with them I remember wondering to myself - how on earth is he going to keep them busy? My question was answered when I arrived and saw Bella happily slurping from a 20-oz. orange soda and eating doritos and M&Ms. Bubba had a bottle half full of orange soda (yes, I was horrified) and was eating M&Ms that Brian was crushing for him, apparently so he wouldn't choke. How very thoughtful.
I got there just as the kids were finishing the snacks that their father had so thoughtfully provided for them. I sat down at the other chair in the little cubicle and the children proceeded to go absolutely insane - they were all hopped up on candy and soda, and apparently the excitement of seeing old mom after a day away was just to much to bear.
They started pushing and shoving each other to get to me, and then there was a fight over who got to sit in my lap. Bubba won, eventually, and proceeded to alternately shove his approaching sister in the face and yank on the cord of the printer that was beside us. I was trying to keep him contained when Bella grabbed a pair of scissors off the desk and started waving them around like some sort of scissor-armed swashbuckler. I took the scissors away and while I was distracted with that Bubba knocked down a pen caddy, sending roughly two dozen pens clattering to the floor. I was trying to pick up the pens and keep Bubba from them, so he started screaming and kicked his sister in the face, who started whining. When I sat back up to put the pens back on the desk our tax preparer said, "Wow, your kids were so much better behaved before you got here. I guess Daddy is the disciplinarian in this family".
I couldn't even say anything to respond to that. At first I wanted to defend myself ("They were good for him because he was giving them soda and candy!"), then I decided to ignore it, then I wanted to say something snide, but in the end I said nothing at all. I felt utterly defeated. Eventually I just let it go, but not before sulking about it for a little while. Maybe it's just me, but I don't think that is the kind of thing you should say to someone. Especially not someone who is about to write you a check for a rather large sum of money for your services.
I seem to fall back on my 'say nothing' strategy quite often. It doesn't make me feel any better, but I don't always trust myself to have a kind reply.
Brian did get his comeuppance, however, for allowing the rampant sugar intake: halfway through his bottle of orange soda, Bubba threw up all over him. And orange soda baby throw-up is smelly, let me assure you.
We are getting ready for our vacation - we leave a week from Friday! This is our first family vacation ever - not just our first with Bubba. We have gone to visit family either in southern Florida or over in Louisiana, but for some reason it was always Bella and myself or Bella and Brian, never all of us together. And not only will it be my little family, but my mother-in-law and father-in-law are going, too. My sister-in-law moved to Virginia Beach last year, so we will be visiting with her, her husband and my new niece, who I just can't wait to meet and spoil. And we will all be together for Easter, which will be nice.
We are planning on visiting Colonial Williamsburg (we are going to rent a costume for Bella so she can walk around in period dress), checking out the VA Beach Aquarium and hitting up a really cool children's museum that is nearby. It should be lots of fun. I loved Williamsburg, so I'm excited to go back. It's going to be a big trip and a fun trip.
I bought a new book the other day to read in the car, and it's killing me to have a new book that I can't read. I actually made Brian hide it from me today, just so I can't get to it. And on that note, I'm off to find something to read. If only I knew where he hid that book....
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Stormy Weather
This picture was taken by my sister (on her blackberry, as it so smugly and insistently reminds you) right outside where we work. The rain has been crazy. On my way to work this morning I had to change my route three times due to flooded streets.The location where we currently work used to be a five and dime store called J.J. Newberry's, and back in the day my grandmother worked there, at the grill. And now my sister and I work there - I think that's kind of neat. The grill is long gone but the exhaust vent is still there, along with some original flooring in places and the pay toilet doors. A little history for you. :)
Baby, I'm back (sort of)
Boy, was I sick. Sicker than I have been in a long, long time, and sick for what felt like a long, long time - two weeks exactly. I still have a little rattle in my chest and some sinus pressure/pain, but other than that I finally feel human again. But I'm still so tired! It's like I just can't get enough sleep. No matter how tired I might be, though, I thank God that I am functioning again.
My apartment, though....it has seen some better days. Most nights I just tried to pick up enough to ensure we wouldn't develop an infestation of roaches or rodents in the house, declared it good enough and collapsed into bed. It's not dirty, in other words, there is just stuff everywhere - it's cluttered.
My husband did help out around the house - one night, after he had left for work, I went into our master bathroom to brush my teeth and was pleasantly surprised to notice that he had cleaned. I decided to call him and thank him, while brushing my teeth - that's a bad habit of mine, talking on the phone and brushing. I thanked him for cleaning the bathroom, and we were talking about the kids and Bella's day at school when I suddenly noticed an icky taste in my mouth. This is the conversation that followed:
Me: "My toothbrush tastes funny..."
Hubby: "Uh-oh, like what?"
Me: "I don't know what it tastes like, but it doesn't taste right."
Hubby: "Oh, wait, I might have accidentally sprayed it with bathroom cleaner."
Me: "WHAT? Are you serious? I'm brushing my teeth with bathroom cleaner?"
Hubby: "Probably, yeah, I thought I might have sprayed it."
Me: "Why didn't you throw it away? Or better yet move the toothbrushes when you're cleaning?"
Hubby: "I don't know! I thought you would be mad if I threw your toothbrush away!"
Me: "Madder than I would be for you letting my brush my teeth with Tilex?"
Hubby: "Well, I wasn't really sure which would be worse. And then I forgot."
I rinsed thoroughly, threw away my toothbrush, got another one out of the hall closet and just let the subject drop - I was so grateful to have just one room in the house that was clean that I didn't care about a little Tilex in my toothpaste. So now my mouth is disinfected and lemony fresh, and maybe the bleach will have some whitening effects (but hopefully no other effects). But hey, at least my bathroom is clean!
My apartment, though....it has seen some better days. Most nights I just tried to pick up enough to ensure we wouldn't develop an infestation of roaches or rodents in the house, declared it good enough and collapsed into bed. It's not dirty, in other words, there is just stuff everywhere - it's cluttered.
My husband did help out around the house - one night, after he had left for work, I went into our master bathroom to brush my teeth and was pleasantly surprised to notice that he had cleaned. I decided to call him and thank him, while brushing my teeth - that's a bad habit of mine, talking on the phone and brushing. I thanked him for cleaning the bathroom, and we were talking about the kids and Bella's day at school when I suddenly noticed an icky taste in my mouth. This is the conversation that followed:
Me: "My toothbrush tastes funny..."
Hubby: "Uh-oh, like what?"
Me: "I don't know what it tastes like, but it doesn't taste right."
Hubby: "Oh, wait, I might have accidentally sprayed it with bathroom cleaner."
Me: "WHAT? Are you serious? I'm brushing my teeth with bathroom cleaner?"
Hubby: "Probably, yeah, I thought I might have sprayed it."
Me: "Why didn't you throw it away? Or better yet move the toothbrushes when you're cleaning?"
Hubby: "I don't know! I thought you would be mad if I threw your toothbrush away!"
Me: "Madder than I would be for you letting my brush my teeth with Tilex?"
Hubby: "Well, I wasn't really sure which would be worse. And then I forgot."
I rinsed thoroughly, threw away my toothbrush, got another one out of the hall closet and just let the subject drop - I was so grateful to have just one room in the house that was clean that I didn't care about a little Tilex in my toothpaste. So now my mouth is disinfected and lemony fresh, and maybe the bleach will have some whitening effects (but hopefully no other effects). But hey, at least my bathroom is clean!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Oops, I did it again
Bella's school must think I am a horrible parent. I expect a knock on the door from child protective services any minute now because, between my own ineptitude and Bella's stories, I must come across as some sort of neglectful, mean mom.
One fine example: I put Bella's hot lunch money in her folder, telling her that I was doing so in the process. When I did that I took her lunch box from the day before out of her backpack but didn't have time to put it away, because her brother was busy falling off the sofa. I promptly forgot about the lunchbox, she didn't hear me mention the lunch money and put the lunchbox (from the day before, remember) back into her backpack. She gets to school, never finds the lunch money, takes her lunchbox to the cafeteria and.....nothing but an empty sandwich box, a warm cold-pack and a used napkin. The school gave her a PB&J sandwich, so it isn't like she went hungry, but man, I felt terrible. BUT - she should have been listening when I told her about her lunch money (I thought she was listening - I made her verify that she heard me, and even had her repeat it back to me) and she should have seen it in her folder - it was right there. It was still in her folder when she came home that day.
Another example: Bella came home from school one day and had supplies in her backpack. I was curious and asked why she had the scissors, glue and markers. She answered: "I told my teacher that we don't have any of that at home, and if I was going to finish illustrating my story I needed to borrow them from school". I could just see her teacher feeling very sorry for poor Bella, who has no supplies at home, but that little tale of woe, my friends, is completely untrue. Bella has a ton of school/art/craft supplies, and even if she didn't, I have girl scout supplies coming out of my wazoo. We could open our own store, we have so much of the stuff lying around. Bella is just too lazy to find them, despite the fact that they are everywhere. I keep a stash in the living room, in case we need them, and her room is crawling in markers and other supplies - they are everywhere. I even keep sets in the car, in case I need them for scouts. And yet she bats her big eyes and claims to not own a marker or a glue stick. Whatever.
We had another episode today - today was school pride day, and they didn't have to wear their uniforms. This morning Bella wasn't exactly certain of the rules, and neither was I, so I went to the school website and pulled up the handbook to make sure. Feeling safe in what she ultimately ended up wearing (after going through about 6 different outfits) I sent her off. So this evening, after working all day and going grocery shopping, I come home and the first thing Bella says is, "I didn't have a collar on my shirt and I was supposed to and so I had to wear a sweatshirt all day and it was hot and it was somebody else's sweatshirt from Lost and Found and it was kind of smelly". Well, then.
I was a little cheesed, at first. It was warm today - around 80 degrees. She wasn't in danger of a heat stroke or anything, but it had to be uncomfortable running around all day in a sweatshirt. Then Bella showed me a printout her teacher had put into her folder from the class web page - not the school, the class web page - that did indeed say everyone had to wear collared shirts, which was contrary to what was on the school web page in the school handbook. I did not check the class page, I admit, and maybe I should have, but frankly I don't have the time or the energy to compare the two sites on a daily basis.
I wrote a note to her teacher, then threw it away. Then I wrote another note to her teacher, and threw it away. Then I went to the store to get stuff for girl scouts, came home, thought about writing another note, and haven't. It's not the teacher's fault, I'm not mad at her, but I think someone should know that there is an error. What about parents who don't have internet access and are going exclusively by the handbook? Although it would be very difficult to send a child to this school without having internet access, since everything is online - newsletters, homework, forms - even report cards, now, are exclusively online. Anyway, all that to say, I was kind of miffed, but I just need to get over it. Although I still want to write that note.
I feel bad - I feel inattentive, lazy, and bad. I sent her to school Friday with lunch money, and the school called me to tell me it was a half day and there was no hot lunch. I thanked her profusely (that was in the thick of my illness - I was running almost a 102-degree fever that morning) for reminding me, and then the secretary said, "So you are going to come get her, right? Otherwise she won't have anything to eat". I understand that she was just doing her job by asking that and she didn't mean anything by it, and I'm glad someone is looking out to make sure that Bella eats, but it made me feel so guilty. Like I was planning on leaving her there anyway and hoping maybe someone would feel sorry for her and throw some goldfish crackers on the floor or something.
Accidents happen, though, right? No one is perfect. I am trying to stay on top of all these details. It doesn't always work out for me, but at least I'm trying.
Happy Saint Patrick's day!
One fine example: I put Bella's hot lunch money in her folder, telling her that I was doing so in the process. When I did that I took her lunch box from the day before out of her backpack but didn't have time to put it away, because her brother was busy falling off the sofa. I promptly forgot about the lunchbox, she didn't hear me mention the lunch money and put the lunchbox (from the day before, remember) back into her backpack. She gets to school, never finds the lunch money, takes her lunchbox to the cafeteria and.....nothing but an empty sandwich box, a warm cold-pack and a used napkin. The school gave her a PB&J sandwich, so it isn't like she went hungry, but man, I felt terrible. BUT - she should have been listening when I told her about her lunch money (I thought she was listening - I made her verify that she heard me, and even had her repeat it back to me) and she should have seen it in her folder - it was right there. It was still in her folder when she came home that day.
Another example: Bella came home from school one day and had supplies in her backpack. I was curious and asked why she had the scissors, glue and markers. She answered: "I told my teacher that we don't have any of that at home, and if I was going to finish illustrating my story I needed to borrow them from school". I could just see her teacher feeling very sorry for poor Bella, who has no supplies at home, but that little tale of woe, my friends, is completely untrue. Bella has a ton of school/art/craft supplies, and even if she didn't, I have girl scout supplies coming out of my wazoo. We could open our own store, we have so much of the stuff lying around. Bella is just too lazy to find them, despite the fact that they are everywhere. I keep a stash in the living room, in case we need them, and her room is crawling in markers and other supplies - they are everywhere. I even keep sets in the car, in case I need them for scouts. And yet she bats her big eyes and claims to not own a marker or a glue stick. Whatever.
We had another episode today - today was school pride day, and they didn't have to wear their uniforms. This morning Bella wasn't exactly certain of the rules, and neither was I, so I went to the school website and pulled up the handbook to make sure. Feeling safe in what she ultimately ended up wearing (after going through about 6 different outfits) I sent her off. So this evening, after working all day and going grocery shopping, I come home and the first thing Bella says is, "I didn't have a collar on my shirt and I was supposed to and so I had to wear a sweatshirt all day and it was hot and it was somebody else's sweatshirt from Lost and Found and it was kind of smelly". Well, then.
I was a little cheesed, at first. It was warm today - around 80 degrees. She wasn't in danger of a heat stroke or anything, but it had to be uncomfortable running around all day in a sweatshirt. Then Bella showed me a printout her teacher had put into her folder from the class web page - not the school, the class web page - that did indeed say everyone had to wear collared shirts, which was contrary to what was on the school web page in the school handbook. I did not check the class page, I admit, and maybe I should have, but frankly I don't have the time or the energy to compare the two sites on a daily basis.
I wrote a note to her teacher, then threw it away. Then I wrote another note to her teacher, and threw it away. Then I went to the store to get stuff for girl scouts, came home, thought about writing another note, and haven't. It's not the teacher's fault, I'm not mad at her, but I think someone should know that there is an error. What about parents who don't have internet access and are going exclusively by the handbook? Although it would be very difficult to send a child to this school without having internet access, since everything is online - newsletters, homework, forms - even report cards, now, are exclusively online. Anyway, all that to say, I was kind of miffed, but I just need to get over it. Although I still want to write that note.
I feel bad - I feel inattentive, lazy, and bad. I sent her to school Friday with lunch money, and the school called me to tell me it was a half day and there was no hot lunch. I thanked her profusely (that was in the thick of my illness - I was running almost a 102-degree fever that morning) for reminding me, and then the secretary said, "So you are going to come get her, right? Otherwise she won't have anything to eat". I understand that she was just doing her job by asking that and she didn't mean anything by it, and I'm glad someone is looking out to make sure that Bella eats, but it made me feel so guilty. Like I was planning on leaving her there anyway and hoping maybe someone would feel sorry for her and throw some goldfish crackers on the floor or something.
Accidents happen, though, right? No one is perfect. I am trying to stay on top of all these details. It doesn't always work out for me, but at least I'm trying.
Happy Saint Patrick's day!
Friday, March 13, 2009
Oy
I thought I might be on the mend, but I was terribly, terribly wrong. And I thought my kids were on the mend, but I was terribly wrong there, too. Bella has an earache and poor Bubba has the snuffliest nose in the world, possibly. For right now everyone is in their own beds but iif I was a betting woman I would say around 3Am we'll all be snuggled up together in my bed coughing and sneezing and whining all over each other. Ah, family togetherness.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
I'm having a pity party
It's 1:20am and I can't sleep. I've tried sleeping, and I've tried everything I can think of to get to sleep, and it's just not working out for me. I'm sick as a dog, and tomorrow I have to get Bella up and off to school, then get myself ready for work, drop Bubba off at my MIL's, and then go to work until 5. And that process starts in about five hours.
I'm trying to look at things positively - if I had to get sick, I got sick on Wednesday, just before my Thursday off day. And I didn't have girl scouts this Thursday, yet another thing to be grateful for. And I am grateful things worked out that way - don't get me wrong - but man, tomorrow is just going to be a rough day.
Sorry I haven't posted this week - Brian has been off work until tonight, so that was keeping me busy. Maybe once I feel better I'll have more and better things to talk about than how sick and tired I am.
I'm going to go attempt sleep and hopefully a more positive attitude. And if that doesn't work out, I'm going to lay around and read with tissues shoved up my nose. Because I'm sexy like that. :-)
I'm trying to look at things positively - if I had to get sick, I got sick on Wednesday, just before my Thursday off day. And I didn't have girl scouts this Thursday, yet another thing to be grateful for. And I am grateful things worked out that way - don't get me wrong - but man, tomorrow is just going to be a rough day.
Sorry I haven't posted this week - Brian has been off work until tonight, so that was keeping me busy. Maybe once I feel better I'll have more and better things to talk about than how sick and tired I am.
I'm going to go attempt sleep and hopefully a more positive attitude. And if that doesn't work out, I'm going to lay around and read with tissues shoved up my nose. Because I'm sexy like that. :-)
Thursday, March 05, 2009
A reluctant volunteer
I signed on to post tonight in lieu of doing productive household things, you know, cleaning the bathroom, laundry, anything, really. The garbage desperately needs to go out, too - it's been in the house so long that I wouldn't be surprised if it suddenly stood up and took itself out, glaring at me with disgust as it went. And I would say, "What? I can't get up right now because I'm busy sending shamrocks back to people on Facebook. I was going to take you out eventually!"
Today was a busy day. This week has been a busy week. Bubba has spent his time cutting canine teeth, being miserable and sleeping as little as possible, and when baby don't sleep, well....guess who else hasn't been getting her beauty sleep. My under-eye circles are so dark that someone actually thought I had a black eye.
The weekend isn't offering any relief, either. There was a miscommunication between myself and my beloved cookie mom, and I found out today I am expected at a cookie booth sale at 3:15 tomorrow. This promises to be somewhat difficult, logistically, since I don't get off work until 4:00. I did manage to shift some things around (with the aid of some helpful relatives- love ya, Jen!) and I'll be able to accommodate the booth sale.
I have to admit that I really, really didn't want to take the high road with this issue. I had e-mailed cookie mom weeks ago and told her that I could probably, with notice, rearrange my schedule to make one of the two Friday booth sales she had scheduled, if she let me know which one she wanted me to work. I saw her at church on Ash Wednesday and verified that she had, in fact, received my e-mail, and she said that she had and would be replying shortly, and then never did. I had no idea that she had penciled me in. When she said she would see me tomorrow I just sort of blankly said, "Wha?" (because I have a way with words, you know) and she said she had me on the schedule for tomorrow. I wanted to stomp my feet and whine, "But you said said you would e-mail me and let me know where I was needed and you never did that and I am busy and I don't want to do it and I'm not gonna!". But I didn't, I just sort of gulped it all down and said fine, I would be there.
We are selling at the naval commissary, though, which is hard to get to without a military ID. If the gate guys search my car I will die of embarrassment, because it is dirty. That has happened to me before - after 9/11, there was a huge (and understandable) increase in security measures to board any military property in the area. Everyone was subject to search, and one day, going onto NAS to visit the museum with Bella when she was but a wee little lass, I was selected for a more extensive search. The guard had to open all my doors, and stuff fell out every time he did it. And when I opened my trunk for the man he literally laughed out loud, because it was chock full of random stuff. I felt horribly embarrassed and asked him if he wanted me to take the stuff out so he could look around, and he said no, he didn't think we had that kind of time. You would think I would have learned a lesson from that, but no. I spend a lot of time in my car, ferrying children around, going to and from work, whatever else you can think of, and my car looks like what it is: a roving storage unit/office/pantry/insert anything else you can imagine here,because it's probably in my car. I'm working on it. Just like I'm cleaning the bathroom right now.
Bella was invited to stay the night at a friend's house tomorrow night, too. My co-leader has two daughters, one a year older than Bella and one a year younger, so she can play with either or both, and they invited her to stay over. They have a fabulously huge piece of property, with lots of land. They have a horse, they have a chicken coop, they have a heated pool and they have a hot tub. Heck, I would spend the night there. Bella eagerly agreed, which is fine, but they live waaaay out in the country, so the drive to their house is a long one. And I'll have to pick her up before work Saturday, slicing an hour from my time that morning. But that's OK, I'm sure Bella will enjoy herself, and that makes it worth it.
Tomorrow is going to be a even busier day than today, so I probably need to clean the house before the garbage does come to life. It would probably form an alliance with the dishwasher and attempt to mount some sort of household coup, so I must vanquish them both before they have the opportunity. To the kitchen!
Today was a busy day. This week has been a busy week. Bubba has spent his time cutting canine teeth, being miserable and sleeping as little as possible, and when baby don't sleep, well....guess who else hasn't been getting her beauty sleep. My under-eye circles are so dark that someone actually thought I had a black eye.
The weekend isn't offering any relief, either. There was a miscommunication between myself and my beloved cookie mom, and I found out today I am expected at a cookie booth sale at 3:15 tomorrow. This promises to be somewhat difficult, logistically, since I don't get off work until 4:00. I did manage to shift some things around (with the aid of some helpful relatives- love ya, Jen!) and I'll be able to accommodate the booth sale.
I have to admit that I really, really didn't want to take the high road with this issue. I had e-mailed cookie mom weeks ago and told her that I could probably, with notice, rearrange my schedule to make one of the two Friday booth sales she had scheduled, if she let me know which one she wanted me to work. I saw her at church on Ash Wednesday and verified that she had, in fact, received my e-mail, and she said that she had and would be replying shortly, and then never did. I had no idea that she had penciled me in. When she said she would see me tomorrow I just sort of blankly said, "Wha?" (because I have a way with words, you know) and she said she had me on the schedule for tomorrow. I wanted to stomp my feet and whine, "But you said said you would e-mail me and let me know where I was needed and you never did that and I am busy and I don't want to do it and I'm not gonna!". But I didn't, I just sort of gulped it all down and said fine, I would be there.
We are selling at the naval commissary, though, which is hard to get to without a military ID. If the gate guys search my car I will die of embarrassment, because it is dirty. That has happened to me before - after 9/11, there was a huge (and understandable) increase in security measures to board any military property in the area. Everyone was subject to search, and one day, going onto NAS to visit the museum with Bella when she was but a wee little lass, I was selected for a more extensive search. The guard had to open all my doors, and stuff fell out every time he did it. And when I opened my trunk for the man he literally laughed out loud, because it was chock full of random stuff. I felt horribly embarrassed and asked him if he wanted me to take the stuff out so he could look around, and he said no, he didn't think we had that kind of time. You would think I would have learned a lesson from that, but no. I spend a lot of time in my car, ferrying children around, going to and from work, whatever else you can think of, and my car looks like what it is: a roving storage unit/office/pantry/insert anything else you can imagine here,because it's probably in my car. I'm working on it. Just like I'm cleaning the bathroom right now.
Bella was invited to stay the night at a friend's house tomorrow night, too. My co-leader has two daughters, one a year older than Bella and one a year younger, so she can play with either or both, and they invited her to stay over. They have a fabulously huge piece of property, with lots of land. They have a horse, they have a chicken coop, they have a heated pool and they have a hot tub. Heck, I would spend the night there. Bella eagerly agreed, which is fine, but they live waaaay out in the country, so the drive to their house is a long one. And I'll have to pick her up before work Saturday, slicing an hour from my time that morning. But that's OK, I'm sure Bella will enjoy herself, and that makes it worth it.
Tomorrow is going to be a even busier day than today, so I probably need to clean the house before the garbage does come to life. It would probably form an alliance with the dishwasher and attempt to mount some sort of household coup, so I must vanquish them both before they have the opportunity. To the kitchen!
Sunday, March 01, 2009
I apologize in advance
This paragraph involves some tummy trouble - no details, certainly, but a couple of anecdotes that have amused me. Just a warning! There were some troubling stomach issues happening in my house today. In the midst of the gastric distress the internal flush mechanism on Bella's commode broke off, something I determined to be a matter of replacement and not repair. Since we have to let maintenance handle that and they are not around on Sundays, when flushing has been needed - and it's been needed a lot around here today, I'm sorry to say - I just lift the lid off the toilet tank and pull up the little valve thingy (like my technical plumbing terms?) myself. This distresses Bella greatly, and every time I have done it she shrieks and runs away and then won't come near me for the better part of a half hour or so. If I actually touch her, for some reason, she is completely grossed out - "Mom, you just put toilet water in my hair, that is sooooo nasty". I have explained that the water in the tank is actually clean water, and that I am washing my hands thoroughly after each manual flush, but she just can't see past the fact that I am putting my hands in the toilet.
I wanted to remind her of a time, when she was about four years old, that she came out of the bathroom looking very smug, walked over to me and said, "Mom, I couldn't reach the sink to wash my hands, but it's OK because I washed them in the toilet. And then I flushed it, because it saves water that way". Horrors!
I will segue from there to one more story: a few years ago Brian bought me a nice watch for Mother's Day. A few days later I was in the bathroom, cleaning, and took it off and put it up on a shelf with the towels so it didn't get wet. I cleaned the tub, scrubbed the commode and flushed it, then turned to start cleaning the sink, but when I turned I bumped the shelves with my elbow and jostled the watch, knocking it off the shelf. I tried to grab it while it was falling (towards the toilet bowl), doing this awkward, catching-dropping-bumping thing that felt like it was going in slow motion - I could actually hear myself saying, "NOOOOOOOO....." - and the watch dropped right into the last little bit of water and swirled away, never to be seen again. I had literally flushed my gift down the toilet.
I 'fessed up to Brian when he got home from work, hating it the whole time, knowing full well he would never let me live it down. And he hasn't - to this day, when I say I want something, he teases me about it, in a good-natured way, of course - "If I get you those earrings, do you promise not to flush them down the toilet?". I am exceptional at doing silly little clumsy, awkward things like that, but that is all part of my magical appeal. And that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
I wanted to remind her of a time, when she was about four years old, that she came out of the bathroom looking very smug, walked over to me and said, "Mom, I couldn't reach the sink to wash my hands, but it's OK because I washed them in the toilet. And then I flushed it, because it saves water that way". Horrors!
I will segue from there to one more story: a few years ago Brian bought me a nice watch for Mother's Day. A few days later I was in the bathroom, cleaning, and took it off and put it up on a shelf with the towels so it didn't get wet. I cleaned the tub, scrubbed the commode and flushed it, then turned to start cleaning the sink, but when I turned I bumped the shelves with my elbow and jostled the watch, knocking it off the shelf. I tried to grab it while it was falling (towards the toilet bowl), doing this awkward, catching-dropping-bumping thing that felt like it was going in slow motion - I could actually hear myself saying, "NOOOOOOOO....." - and the watch dropped right into the last little bit of water and swirled away, never to be seen again. I had literally flushed my gift down the toilet.
I 'fessed up to Brian when he got home from work, hating it the whole time, knowing full well he would never let me live it down. And he hasn't - to this day, when I say I want something, he teases me about it, in a good-natured way, of course - "If I get you those earrings, do you promise not to flush them down the toilet?". I am exceptional at doing silly little clumsy, awkward things like that, but that is all part of my magical appeal. And that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
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