We are back from our trek out west. It sounds so cool to say we went on vacation to Colorado.
That is a factual statement.
But not the hoity toity places. Not the mountains. The Plains. Where we used to live.
It was 111 degrees and I am NOT kidding. But we saw family, and it was county fair time which used to be crazy busy fun for us. I didn't even cry during the goat show. (I miss having goats so much it's silly, almost -- but not to me.)
We saw Jay's parents, and his brother, and his nephews, and his nephew's babies for the first time (a 2-year old and an 8-month old). That's when I missed his sister. She should be there - she has a granddaughter born in a family that never has boys. It made me weepy - like it just hit me that she's gone when it's been almost three years.
I saw former coworkers and great friends and the kids had a great time. I knew someone would ask to move back - I was just hoping it wasn't Jay. It wasn't. That area is dry and about to blow away, economically.
My mom said before we left: People won't even recognize you.
Seriously. Several didn't.
Now we're back and the bags are unpacked and I'm down to one kid. One is with her friends in Va. and one is with my mom.
Best country song out there right now? This one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qzhngp7jh8
Father Carroll said this morning that to be envious of other's gifts is to lack appreciation of your own. I envy all of Carrie Underwood's gifts, from her voice to her body to her husband. It's wrong, I know...
I have no idea why sitting in a car for two whole days makes me tired. But I am. Exhausted. Is what I am. I need a good run - it's the first thing on the agenda tomorrow after Josh goes to the sitter.
Best thing about vacation? The food. OH HOW I MISSED THE FOOD. I heart Rita's tamales. And she fed us well.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Epic fail
I have 10 million posts in my head, and can't you all read them in there?
I have been doing this parenting thing long enough to know that the youngest is most likely to be spoiled and babied and turn out to be a brat.
When Jay and I were first married I quizzed him on this "mother-son" bond that I was seeing as lasting way too long into adulthood. He said I wouldn't get it unless I had a son one day.
Here's where my epic fail in parenting is occurring: I don't think it's because he's the baby so much as I'm old and quite frankly, tired.
It's easier to give in than argue. Easier to just do it than go through the life lesson.
One night I'm saying "We are just done buying Legos."
The next night I'm clicking "buy it now" on ebay.
He didn't ge breakfast before the dentist the other morning because he said it was too early, he was too tired to eat.
After the dentist he was starving.
We stopped at Sheetz. (ugh). Donut? Granola bar?
No, he wanted an ice cream cone.
Yeah, I bought it.
"Mother!" the girls said in unison when I told them later. "He just came from the dentist. The. Dentist."
"But he didn't have any cavities!" I said.
I don't think one ice cream cone is going to turn the corner on that.
I'd write more right now but I have to go remove him from my bed because he's got this thing about not falling asleep in his own bed lately and I while I won that argument last night, I was too involved in the All Star game to go round and round about it tonight.
Epic fail.
I have been doing this parenting thing long enough to know that the youngest is most likely to be spoiled and babied and turn out to be a brat.
When Jay and I were first married I quizzed him on this "mother-son" bond that I was seeing as lasting way too long into adulthood. He said I wouldn't get it unless I had a son one day.
Here's where my epic fail in parenting is occurring: I don't think it's because he's the baby so much as I'm old and quite frankly, tired.
It's easier to give in than argue. Easier to just do it than go through the life lesson.
One night I'm saying "We are just done buying Legos."
The next night I'm clicking "buy it now" on ebay.
He didn't ge breakfast before the dentist the other morning because he said it was too early, he was too tired to eat.
After the dentist he was starving.
We stopped at Sheetz. (ugh). Donut? Granola bar?
No, he wanted an ice cream cone.
Yeah, I bought it.
"Mother!" the girls said in unison when I told them later. "He just came from the dentist. The. Dentist."
"But he didn't have any cavities!" I said.
I don't think one ice cream cone is going to turn the corner on that.
I'd write more right now but I have to go remove him from my bed because he's got this thing about not falling asleep in his own bed lately and I while I won that argument last night, I was too involved in the All Star game to go round and round about it tonight.
Epic fail.
He looks well-rounded and polite, still, right? RIGHT???
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Kidless week concludes
Every year I look forward to "kidless week," that week where my mom takes all three for a week, or about a week. Jay and I use the time to do at least one household project involving paint and ladders, and I try to get caught up on some stuff. We eat out (so, so rare for us) and when we don't, it's easy to feed one person, to make sure there's something for him to fix instead of enough to feed the army.
This year we painted the hallway going up the steps which I. have. hated. since we moved in here four years ago.
It looks delightful.
Then we hung things on the wall going upstairs because I haven't wanted to while the wall was a flat-paint-scuffed-unsightly mess. I think the last people who rented this house just took the upstairs furniture to the top of the stairs and pushed it down the steps when they moved out. Anyway, we got the new family photos up in the living room, some photos moved to the stairs, and the newly framed picture of my folks up in the stairway - an EXCELLENT photo taken several years ago. My dad looks fabulous in it (sniffle sniffle).
I also cleaned, finally replaced the kitchen rugs that I am so very very tired of, I crafted some, and I finished the wall hangings for the bathroom.
And I worked 52,000 hours.
And made a new Weight Watchers dish this week - quinoa and spinach.
I went to the library right before it closed one night and found two books by two new authors.
But I am so ready for the kids to be back. I miss them. I miss their faces. I miss Joshua sitting on my lap first thing every morning when he wakes up, the way Hannah checks on you to see if you're OK, the faces Sarah makes when she first gets up and sees all the activity from the rest of us who have been up for hours before she makes a beeline to the couch and resumes the prone position changing channels every three seconds.
How do people without children deal with all this quiet? And what will I do when it's quiet for good?
This year we painted the hallway going up the steps which I. have. hated. since we moved in here four years ago.
It looks delightful.
Then we hung things on the wall going upstairs because I haven't wanted to while the wall was a flat-paint-scuffed-unsightly mess. I think the last people who rented this house just took the upstairs furniture to the top of the stairs and pushed it down the steps when they moved out. Anyway, we got the new family photos up in the living room, some photos moved to the stairs, and the newly framed picture of my folks up in the stairway - an EXCELLENT photo taken several years ago. My dad looks fabulous in it (sniffle sniffle).
I also cleaned, finally replaced the kitchen rugs that I am so very very tired of, I crafted some, and I finished the wall hangings for the bathroom.
And I worked 52,000 hours.
And made a new Weight Watchers dish this week - quinoa and spinach.
I went to the library right before it closed one night and found two books by two new authors.
But I am so ready for the kids to be back. I miss them. I miss their faces. I miss Joshua sitting on my lap first thing every morning when he wakes up, the way Hannah checks on you to see if you're OK, the faces Sarah makes when she first gets up and sees all the activity from the rest of us who have been up for hours before she makes a beeline to the couch and resumes the prone position changing channels every three seconds.
How do people without children deal with all this quiet? And what will I do when it's quiet for good?
Sunday, June 26, 2011
A lot of stuff
I was a reporter today.
It's been years. Years since I sold out to be an editor for more stable hours, more money. It is selling out, shutup, it is. I admit it. But you do what you have to do to provide for your family in the way YOU want to provide.
Anyway, I did two assignments that were fun and somewhat simple. Just like old times. Then there was a scanner call for an overturned bus.
Camera, orange safety vest, ran out of the newsroom.
I was thinking that I would be working more hours than I planned. I was pissed.
"Holy crap" I said when I saw it. Fireman running everywhere. People being pulled out of the bus.
I took a better look.
It's a bus from my daughter's school.
No, she wasn't on it, but does she know the kids that were? Do I know these kids?
Between the photos and the phone calls, the posting and the calls from AP to get them photos and info, it was busy for hours. Crazy busy.
And in the back of my mind I'm shushing the "mom" I am.
Everyone is now safe. Broken bones for some. No death. No coroner call. No Lifeline.
The bus was on its way to church camp. Elementary kids.
God watches us all the time, and this time it went the way we'd hope, not the way we wouldn't understand.
Thank you God.
It's been years. Years since I sold out to be an editor for more stable hours, more money. It is selling out, shutup, it is. I admit it. But you do what you have to do to provide for your family in the way YOU want to provide.
Anyway, I did two assignments that were fun and somewhat simple. Just like old times. Then there was a scanner call for an overturned bus.
Camera, orange safety vest, ran out of the newsroom.
I was thinking that I would be working more hours than I planned. I was pissed.
"Holy crap" I said when I saw it. Fireman running everywhere. People being pulled out of the bus.
I took a better look.
It's a bus from my daughter's school.
No, she wasn't on it, but does she know the kids that were? Do I know these kids?
Between the photos and the phone calls, the posting and the calls from AP to get them photos and info, it was busy for hours. Crazy busy.
And in the back of my mind I'm shushing the "mom" I am.
Everyone is now safe. Broken bones for some. No death. No coroner call. No Lifeline.
The bus was on its way to church camp. Elementary kids.
God watches us all the time, and this time it went the way we'd hope, not the way we wouldn't understand.
Thank you God.
Monday, June 20, 2011
The first invented dish of summer
Weight Watchers really encourages people to eat a variety of foods, because boredom leads to eating stuff that isn't the best for us (pass the Oreos, yo).
I don't eat certain things often because I think it's too many points. Rice, for example. I've been hungry for rice or pasta lately, and decided to make the rest of the brown rice in the pantry (brown rice takes longer to cook than a roast, I swear). I added in fresh cucumbers and tomatoes that I bought at a roadside stand, and then mix in some olive oil. We're supposed to have a certain amount of healthy oils every day and I almost never do. Someone at my WW meeting told me she puts olive oil in her oatmeal to get her oils in. GROSS.
So my first invented salad of the summer is: half cup of brown rice, cooked; one tomato cut (one cup), one small cucumber cut up (measured to be one cup) and one cup of scallions, chopped. I advise cutting way back on the scallions, or else having a lot of gum handy for later.
Anyway, I put just one teaspoon of EVOO on this and stirred it up.
Six points plus. I know, right! But it's huge. You could half it and have a 3 points plusser.
You might catch a glimpse of my beachy coffee cup there in the corner. I bought it on Anna Maria Island where we stay for our girls-only spring training trip each year. I love that beach and I love that cup - it's huge, like drinking a bowl of coffee. A bowl of coffee can never be a bad thing, right?
So to demonstrate the bipolarness of my kitchen, here is what the younger kids had for lunch that day. I know, I know, child abuse, right? Hey, it's summer.
I don't eat certain things often because I think it's too many points. Rice, for example. I've been hungry for rice or pasta lately, and decided to make the rest of the brown rice in the pantry (brown rice takes longer to cook than a roast, I swear). I added in fresh cucumbers and tomatoes that I bought at a roadside stand, and then mix in some olive oil. We're supposed to have a certain amount of healthy oils every day and I almost never do. Someone at my WW meeting told me she puts olive oil in her oatmeal to get her oils in. GROSS.
So my first invented salad of the summer is: half cup of brown rice, cooked; one tomato cut (one cup), one small cucumber cut up (measured to be one cup) and one cup of scallions, chopped. I advise cutting way back on the scallions, or else having a lot of gum handy for later.
Anyway, I put just one teaspoon of EVOO on this and stirred it up.
Six points plus. I know, right! But it's huge. You could half it and have a 3 points plusser.
You might catch a glimpse of my beachy coffee cup there in the corner. I bought it on Anna Maria Island where we stay for our girls-only spring training trip each year. I love that beach and I love that cup - it's huge, like drinking a bowl of coffee. A bowl of coffee can never be a bad thing, right?
So to demonstrate the bipolarness of my kitchen, here is what the younger kids had for lunch that day. I know, I know, child abuse, right? Hey, it's summer.
First Crafty Friday under our belts!
We had our first Crafty Friday of the summer this past week.
Attendance was down - Sarah got invited to an overnight that turned into two days of her becoming part of someone else's family, and that family is way cooler than ours, apparently.
To ease into it, we did a glue and tissue paper craft.
Joshua kept asking why we had to do this when cartoons were on, and I perservered through without yelling. (Because I keep telling myself yelling negates the togetherness and happiness intended by Crafty Friday.)
When it was over, he said "That's it? It's already done?"
Sigh.
This week will be more challenging.
Here's what it looked like:
Attendance was down - Sarah got invited to an overnight that turned into two days of her becoming part of someone else's family, and that family is way cooler than ours, apparently.
To ease into it, we did a glue and tissue paper craft.
Joshua kept asking why we had to do this when cartoons were on, and I perservered through without yelling. (Because I keep telling myself yelling negates the togetherness and happiness intended by Crafty Friday.)
When it was over, he said "That's it? It's already done?"
Sigh.
This week will be more challenging.
Here's what it looked like:
Thursday, June 16, 2011
It's Summer! And I like it!
I'm ashamed to admit that summer has not been my favorite thing in the past. Since leaving Colorado, summer has been an inconvenience - changes in schedules for the kids, lack of consistency, failure to establish a pattern. That's the control freak in me wigging out.
This year, thanks to some input from some of the greatest women in cyberspace (Meg and Beth especially) I decided to treat summer like summer.
This past weekend - the first weekend everyone was done with school in our house - there was a new slip-n-slide (only because once I invited Josh's BF to come over and slip and slide did I learn the old one didn't work anymore, so we scampered to Target), the snocone maker was out, the grill was on. I even bought a little firepot to quench my need for some flammage outside in the dark. I thought "this is pretty cool! This feels like summer!"
What took me so long to like it, right?
I also have some photos of the teachers gifts, since I went jabbering on facebook about painting bags. The cute tags on the candy bars, Swedish fish and root beer are from 'eighteen25" - another superbulous blog for the crafty.
The second photo is the painted bags - I cannot for the life of me remember what website that idea came from but I like it -- and a rather unflattering shot of the potato chip scarf for Josh's wonderful kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Super.
This year, thanks to some input from some of the greatest women in cyberspace (Meg and Beth especially) I decided to treat summer like summer.
This past weekend - the first weekend everyone was done with school in our house - there was a new slip-n-slide (only because once I invited Josh's BF to come over and slip and slide did I learn the old one didn't work anymore, so we scampered to Target), the snocone maker was out, the grill was on. I even bought a little firepot to quench my need for some flammage outside in the dark. I thought "this is pretty cool! This feels like summer!"
What took me so long to like it, right?
I also have some photos of the teachers gifts, since I went jabbering on facebook about painting bags. The cute tags on the candy bars, Swedish fish and root beer are from 'eighteen25" - another superbulous blog for the crafty.
The second photo is the painted bags - I cannot for the life of me remember what website that idea came from but I like it -- and a rather unflattering shot of the potato chip scarf for Josh's wonderful kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Super.
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