Month: November 2007

I Never Thought I Would Be Helping My 2-Year-Old With Homework

Published by dee on November 12, 2007

This here is Zachary’s very first homework assignment. When I signed him up at his day care/school/whatever you want to call it, I certainly didn’t expect to be doing homework with my two-year-old. I’m not complaining, because it was just as fun as it was frustrating.

The project was intended to incorporate the family into the classroom. I guess it was supposed to be a way to get parents involved with their child and interested in what they are doing at school, which I’m all for. Plus, it will get to hang in the hallway by his classroom so he can show it off and be proud. I just hope he appreciates all of my hard work.

From my understanding, the project was supposed to show a little bit about who the child is. One of the suggestions was to use pictures, so since I take a million pictures anyway I chose that option for Zach’s project. I chose some recent pictures of him, pulled out my old scrapbooking supplies and went to town.

The hardest part of the whole project was trying to give up my perfectionist ways and let Zach actually help. I wanted him to be part of it and to enjoy the process with me but it was so hard when he wanted glue stars on top of the pictures I had just cut out and framed. It was really hard to keep myself in check and more than once I let out a “No!” when he tried to put something in the wrong place. I don’t know why I couldn’t just let him do it.

The final project came out pretty good. It isn’t like he’s being graded on it or anything, but I really felt those straight “A” perfectionist tendencies coming out in myself. I still want to go fix a few things when I look at it, but I have to remind myself that it is Zach’s project and as long as he’s happy with it, I should be too.

I suppose I might as well let go now because I’ve got another 15 years of overseeing projects and homework with this one.

As I get further into the month, I’m finding that my 30 Days of Thanks posts are getting harder and harder. I am so blessed in my life that it should be easy to find something to be thankful for, but some days I’m just not in the right frame of mind I suppose.Today, what I’m the most thankful for is my Hubby. Last night, when I was at the end of my rope with Zach because he wouldn’t go to bed for the 20th time, I told Hubby it was time for him to take over. I was quickly losing my temper and knew that things were not going to get better if I continued trying to coax Zach to bed. Not only did Hubby manage to get him to bed, but Zach actually stayed in his own bed all night and I got a fairly decent night’s sleep. It may not seem like much, but it was exactly what I needed at the time.

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Reality Check

Published by dee on November 12, 2007

Zach: “Mommy, play with me.”

Me: “Ok, just a minute.”

Zach: “Mommy, put ‘puter down! Play with me!”

Did you hear that? That was the sound of my heart breaking. As if I didn’t feel guilty enough already!

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Change of Plans

Published by dee on November 11, 2007

As usual, our weekend didn’t exactly go as planned. I got a phone call at work on Friday saying Zach was sick and I needed to come pick him up. All afternoon he seemed perfectly fine, so we went out for a bit to run errands and grab some dinner. As I said, everything seemed fine…until he woke up at 5:00 in the morning covered in puke. Needless to say that was a bit of a rude awakening.

Besides the fact that I hate my boy being sick, I was really bummed because we had big plans for the day. I had some shopping and errands to do, and then we were supposed to go to the circus with my sister and her family. I was really excited about the circus because I thought Zach would really enjoy it this year. We’ve taken him the last two years and while he did get into it last year, he didn’t really understand what was going on.

Instead of going on with our plans, we slept in and bummed around the house all day. As I was putting away some of Zach’s clothes I suddenly got motivated to clean out his closet. I’ve been trying to figure out exactly how to squeeze clothing for another little human into our already scarce closet space. Zach and Hubby are already sharing a closet and no matter how hard I try I can’t condense enough to give up any of my closet space.

I spent most of the morning organizing and cleaning out the closet, then made a trip to Wal-Mart for a few things. I ended up getting Baby G some plastic drawers that will serve as her dresser until we can get something better. Now they are just waiting to be filled with adorable little girl clothes. The rest of her clothes will have to hang with Zach’s, but there is still some space in the back of the closet so that shouldn’t be a problem. As you can see from the picture, I didn’t get around to the top shelf, which is still a mess but it’s a start. I do still have another four months before I need to even worry about this anyway.

As it turned out, Zach was fine the rest of the day. He was jumping around, dancing, playing, and having a grand old time. We probably could have gone ahead with our plans, but it wasn’t such a bad day anyway.

What I’m most thankful for at the end of the day, every day, is this smile:

Okay, so maybe not that exact smile because he was really cheesing it up here, but you get the point. No matter how bad my day may be, or how many tantrums I have to sit through, that smile makes every minute worth it.

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Because I Can't Resist A Good Sale

Published by dee on November 10, 2007

I’m trying so hard to resist, but I’ve waited so long to be able to buy cute little girl clothes that I just can’t help myself (and this doesn’t even include the ones my mom bought!). Besides that, I’ve never been able to pass by a clearance rack without at least checking it out. I don’t think Baby G will ever be wanting for clothes.

Today I’m thankful for my brother. He celebrates his 25th birthday today and even though I still think of him as a kid most of the time, I’ve also very proud of the man that he has become over the last few years. I can’t wait to watch as he becomes a father next month. I’m anxious for him to experience the joy that is parenthood and look forward to our little girls growing up together. Happy Birthday Bro!

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Interview Meme

Published by dee on November 9, 2007

A couple of weeks ago, Lara posted answers to an interview meme on her blog and at then end asked for volunteers to be interviewed. It sounded like fun, so I left a comment saying I would love to be interviewed. She sent me the questions and they’ve been sitting in my inbox waiting for me since then. I figured I better get around to answering them before I forgot about them, so here’s what the amazingly talented Lara wanted to know.

1) What excites you most about having a second child?

This one is actually a really easy answer for me. The thing I am most excited about with this second child is that I’ll have the opportunity to watch my two children grow up as siblings. I love my brother and sister with all my heart and I know my life would not have been the same without them in it. I can’t wait to watch Zachary and Baby G grow up together with all of the fights, love, and camaraderie that brothers and sisters share.

2) What, in your opinion, is the best gift you’ve ever given someone?
(Real gifts only – things like “my son” or “love” don’t count)

I love giving gifts and always try to put a lot of thought into it to get just the right thing for just the right person. I like to think that all of the gifts I’ve given have been fabulous, but I’m sure the recipients have probably wondered just what I was thinking from time to time. In my opinion, probably the best gifts I’ve ever given were those that I made myself. In particular, I think the handmade baby blankets that I love to give are probably the best. I put a lot of time and love into making them and hope that they will be something that the recipients will cherish as they get older.

3) What is the one musical act you’re most ashamed of having loved in
your youth?

I like to think I have pretty good taste in music, so this is a tough question. I guess it would have to be New Kids On The Block. I was absolutely infatuated with them during my pre-teen years. They were cute. Their songs were catchy. What more could a pre-teen girl with raging hormones ask for? My favorite NKOTB member changed about as often as my underwear, but always alternated between Jordan, Donnie, and Joe. The other two were never really a consideration for me, but I would have been willing to marry any of my three favorites. These days I still find myself singing along whenever I happen to catch a few notes of one of their songs and I even kind of regret getting rid of the cd my Grandpa bought me years later when I was in High School.

4) Cheerleading: Is it or is it not a sport?

Although many people would probably disagree, I do believe that cheerleading is a sport, just as much a swimming or gymnastics. Cheerleading requires a certain amount of coordination, strength, and physical ability (all of which I never had). Anyone who disagrees needs to spend some time watching a cheerleading competition and watch the team perform flips and throw each other around for a while.

5) If you had a rewind button that could fix it if you hated it, what
major change(s) would you want to make to your hair?

I think I’ve pretty much done everything that I could possibly do with my hair. I’ve had it waist long, almost completely shaved, and everything in between. The only thing I’ve ever really wanted that I can’t have is straight hair. I’ve straightened it with a blow dryer and flat iron many times, but that takes a level of effort that I just can’t expend on a daily basis. If I could somehow have it permanently straightened (and didn’t have to pay for it), I would totally do it. Of course, then I would probably get sick of it and want my curls back.

So, that’s the end of Lara’s questions, but if you have any more, please feel free to leave them in the comments section. I still have 21 days left of NaBloPoMo and I’m sure I’m going to run out of things to write about soon!

Today I’m very thankful for Old Navy’s 40% off coat sale. With an added 10% off on top of that, I was able to purchase the maternity coat for the winter that I’ve been drooling over. I debated whether to buy it or to just let my belly hang out of my coat this winter, but with 50% off, how could I not buy it? Now I have the comfort of knowing that on those cold winter days (that are coming up very soon), me and Baby G will be nice and warm. (Zach will be nice and warm too as he also benefited from the sale!)

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A Perfect Day

Published by dee on November 8, 2007

So many times in my life I’ve had days that I have looked forward to for weeks, if not months, ahead of time. Then the actual day comes and I’ve spent so much time anticipating it that when it is all said and done I end up disappointed. Yesterday was not one of those days. In fact, with the exception of having to spent a few hours at work and a little baby-sitting snafu, it was pretty much a perfect day.

As you know, if you’ve been reading along, we found out yesterday that this little fetus in my belly is indeed a baby girl. I have always dreamed of having one boy and one girl and as of yesterday morning that dream has become a reality. I’m still a little in shock about that because even though my intuition told me it was a girl, I was scared to believe it. Somehow I thought that if I really, truly, believed it was a girl that it would end up being a boy. But, I was totally right all along and I can’t wait to meet my little girl!

After I left the doctor’s office, I came to work and made about a million phone calls to my family, then sent text messages to the rest of my friends who were waiting for the news. It took me quite a while to get myself settled back down and ready to work. Then I realized just how much I needed to get done before I could leave. I rushed myself as quickly as I possibly could to get things finished up so I could leave on time. I still didn’t leave quite on time, but fortunately Hubby was able to get off work early so he could pick Zach up and bring him over to meet up with our last-minute replacement baby-sitter.

When I finally got away from work, I ended up in major traffic which normally would have really irritated me. Instead, I talked to one of my best friends on the phone most of the way home and she managed to keep me just distracted enough that I didn’t lose my good mood. Once I got home, it was a quick change of clothes and back out the door on our way to see Garth Brooks in concert.

The concert was everything I had imagined it to be and more. My mom came along with Hubby and I and we met up with my sister and her husband at the show.

Trisha Yearwood started things up and was fantastic. While I wouldn’t necessarily call her one of my favorites, I have always enjoyed her music and she did not disappoint. She played a pretty short set, supposedly to allow Garth some extra stage time, but she managed to get in the songs I was really hoping to hear.

After a short break to change the stage set-up, Garth Brooks came out to a roaring crowd. He sang most of his big hits, including his newest release, with the crowd singing along the entire time. It was such an amazing show. I wondered before the show if I might have missed out on something by not seeing him in his prime, but I don’t think I missed out on a thing. The best part of the show was seeing the smile on his face. You could tell he was having a great time up there on the stage and enjoying every minute of it.

At one point during the show, Garth noticed a girl in the front row taking pictures. He bent down, grabbed her camera from her, handed it to a band member, then squatted down next to her and posed for a picture. How’s that for a souvenir? He also stopped to recognize the crowd saying that even though we may not think he sees us, he does. He pointed out a sign that was being held up and said that he saw the same sign the night before in the front. He pointed out a couple towards the back that had been standing through the whole show, and then a child who had fallen asleep on his dad’s shoulder. To me, that showed just how much he appreciates his fans.

For me, this was one of the most fun and entertaining concerts I’ve ever been to. As many shows as I’ve seen, I can’t really say which was the best anymore, but I definitely left happy with one more of those little lifetime goals checked off the list.

Here’s the setlist for anyone interested, as posted at Back to Rockville:

Setlist: The Fever; Good Ride Cowboy; Two Pina Coladas; Two of a Kind, Working’ on a Full House; Rodeo; The Thunder Rolls; The Beaches of Cheyenne; The River; We Shall Be Free; Unanswered Prayers; If Tomorrow Never Comes; Summer Wind; Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old); More Than a Memory; Papa Loved Mama; In Another’s Eyes (with Trisha Yearwood); Walkaway Joe (Trisha Yearwood), Calling’ Baton Rouge; Friends in Low Places; The Dance.

Encore: Ain’t Going Down (Til the Sun Comes Up). Medley: She Thinks I Still Care (George Jones); Mama Tried (Merle Haggard); Mrs. Robinson (Simon & Garfunkel), Wild World (Cat Stevens), Piano Man (Billy Joel), Turn the Page (Bob Seger), Amarillo By Morning (George Strait), 1982 (Randy Travis), Ten Feet Away (Keith Whitley), American Pie (Don McLean).

I’m thankful today that I had the opportunity to see Garth Brooks live. It is something I’ve wanted to do since I was in jr. high school and it took me this long to actually do it. But, it was definitely worth the wait.

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