Month: August 2009

17 Months

Published by dee on August 18, 2009

Dear Evie,

Seventeen months fly by so fast. Nearly a year and a half is gone in the blink of an eye. I think of those first few days with you, how tiny you were, and can’t believe that in seventeen months you have grown so much.

Last weekend we had a small garage sale. I sold the baby swing that both you and your brother used. The exersaucer, the play mats, the bathtub chair – they’re all gone now. I’m still holding on to the high chair, crib, and pack ‘n’ play, just in case. I sorted through your teeny, tiny, baby clothes. I put price stickers on a few and packed the rest back into the plastic tote they came out of. I can’t part with them yet. I’m not ready. Someday I will be, but not just yet.

You have decided all on your own that you are a “big girl” now. You don’t want to sleep in your crib any more. You climb right up into brother’s bottom bunk when it’s time for bed. We made it yours this weekend, and you picked out your very own princess sheets and comforter to make it official.

You suddenly want to do everything yourself, from brushing your hair to putting on your clothes and shoes. You pretty much have the shoe thing down, but you’re still a little confused on the clothes. Shirts go over your head, not on your legs.

You talk all the time. You say so many words, I cannot even try to list them anymore. Yesterday, as I was buckling you into your car seat, you were reaching for a brush on the floor of the car. I handed it to you saying, “Are you happy now?” You looked up, gave me a huge grin, and said, “Happy!” That may have been our first true conversation.

You have a fierce love for your brother these days, always wanting to be near him. I worry a bit about how you will handle being separated from him in a few weeks as he heads off to preschool. I’ve found comfort in knowing that even when I’m not with you, the two of you are still together. That will quickly come to an end. As I listened to the two of you giggling together until nearly 11:00 last night, I thought again that maybe it is time for separate bedrooms. Then again, maybe not. You need all the time you can get to be together right now. I’m sure it won’t be long before you are fighting like cats and dogs and begging for separate rooms.

Baby girl, you are so intelligent and caring and just everything I ever dreamed you would be. I know we’ll have our struggles down the road, but I hope that someday you can look back at this and know that you have filled every bit of empty space in my heart.

Love always,
Mama

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Good

Published by dee on August 17, 2009

My boss and I pulled into the parking lot at the same time this morning. As we got out of our cars, he asked me how my weekend was.

“Good,” I replied.

And it was good, just not great. I was moody. Hubby was moody. The kids were a little crazy, which didn’t help out the moodiness of the adults. One thing just added onto another and by Sunday morning Hubby and I were having it out. It was inevitable I suppose. I felt it coming on all week.

All week long I felt the pressure building. Our weekly schedule is a little out of whack with Zach in swimming lessons. I was extra stressed at work trying to get my computer back up and running after replacing the hard drive. Hubby seemed a little more cranky than usual (though I suppose it could have just been me). Zach was more difficult than usual. Evie’s shrieks seemed to grate on my nerves more than usual. Money was tight as we waited for pay day to come on Friday. And I threw a new diet and exercise (ha!) routine in on top of all that.

Friday night Hubby started on-call for work and got called out just as I was getting home with the kids. We agreed to meet up for dinner after he finished his job, but by the time we all got there it was nearly 7:00. The kids were totally out of hand (because they were hungry!) and my stress level was crazy high trying to deal with them. Once we finally got food they settled down. I had promised the kids we’d go swimming at Grandma’s since I needed to pick up some tables from her house so we headed over there next. We ended up leaving Zach to spend the night at Grandma’s with his cousins and headed home where I still needed to prepare for the garage sale I planned on having Saturday.

I ended up staying up until around 2:30 trying to get stuff ready for the garage sale. I didn’t sleep well at all, and then got up at 7:00 to shower and get ready for the sale. Apparently Saturday was just not the day for garage sales in my neighborhood. It was slow as heck and while I did get rid of quite a few things, I had a lot more I wanted to get rid of. I also lowered a lot of prices just to sell stuff and ended up only making $61. When it started raining at 3:00, I was actually glad that I had an excuse to fold up early. We piled everything in the house and I sat down in my comfy chair where I promptly fell asleep and dozed off and on for the next 2 hours or so. I finally forced myself up, but only because my kids needed dinner. I don’t even really remember the rest of the evening, except for the fact that I went to bed early.

I was hoping to set up the sale again for a few hours on Sunday, but when I woke up to thunder and the sound of rain hitting the roof, I knew that was out of the question. Instead, I intended to spend the day cleaning. The kids and I started the morning out slow, with cartoons and pop tarts in the living room. I had warned Zach that as soon as his show ended we would go start cleaning up the play room. With about 5 minutes left of his show, Hubby started telling Zach he needed to go start cleaning. Zach and I both bot irritated by that since I had already told him he could finish his show, and things just escalated from there.

Hubby and I spent the rest of the morning irritated with each other, mainly because we had different agendas for the day. We both pretty much had the same goals (except mine involved a little more work) just a different way of getting to them. Instead of communicating, we were just griping. But, eventually we got (almost) everything done anyway.

After Evie woke up from her nap, I got the kids dressed and headed out to do some shopping. Both kids have outgrown their shoes (again!!!) so we hit up Payless first for some BOGO deals. I also had a 20% off coupon, which ended up getting us four pairs of shoes for $52, which was a pretty great deal (and Zach passed up the Cars shoes for some nice looking tennis shoes, which made it even better!).

Next we headed to Target for a few groceries to get us through the week and to let Evie pick out bedding for her new “big girl” bed. She’s been wanting to sleep in the bottom bunk bed for the last week or so, so I figured it’s time to make it hers. Target had some really cute (generic, non-Disney) bedding sets on clearance, but Evie was having none of that. We ended up with a comforter, sheets, and a throw pillow all in pink Disney Princesses (or “cin-cess”, as Evie says).

By the time we got home, had dinner, and got the kids settled and into bed, I was spent. I will admit that the little bit of retail therapy did help my mood, but I was exhausted. Just as Hubby and I were settling in to watch True Blood, I realized I still needed to fill out the preschool forms that I had set out earlier in the weekend. Instead of sitting back relaxing, I filled out a million forms, repeating the same info over and over again (seriously, can’t they just pull it all from one dang form?).

This morning, I woke up feeling like I hadn’t slept at all. I’m still tired and a bit cranky. It’s still rainy and cruddy outside. And even though it seems like I had a bad weekend, it was good. Between all the cruddy, cranky, gripey, grumpiness going on, I still got to spend it with my three favorite people in the whole world. I still got lots of hugs, kisses, and zerberts. I still got to see my daughter’s face light up when she hugged her “cin-cess” pillow. I still got to listen to my son’s silly stories before I tucked him into bed for the night. I still got to snuggle up in bed with my Hubby after a long day. It was good. Maybe it was better than good. Maybe it was great.

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Is It Time For An Allowance?

Published by dee on August 13, 2009

Zachary is becoming much more interested in money here lately. He has had a couple of opportunities to make his own purchases at the store and really enjoyed it. We talked through the process first, told him how much money he had to spend, helped him choose which toys that were less than that amount, and then let him pay for them himself at the cash register. Ever since then, he keeps asking when he can buy more toys. I explain to him that he’ll have to save more money up before he can buy more toys. The problem is, he probably won’t be getting much money until his birthday rolls around again.

Is it time to start giving him an allowance?

My first response to that question is yes. I do think it is time. He’s interested and ready to start learning about money management. But, how do I go about it? Do I just give him a set amount every week, no matter what? Do I make him do chores in exchange for his allowance? At first I thought chores were the way to go, but the more I think about it I’m not so sure.

A while back I read an article about family responsibility (I would link but can’t remember where I read it). The basic premise was that things like cleaning and taking care of the house should be the shared responsibility of all members of the family (to the best of each member’s ability) and should not be done for any kind of expected reward, but for the good of the family. The only reward would be the natural consequence of the action (the child can easily find the toy they want because it is put away where it belongs) rather than receiving an allowance or other treats for doing something that should be expected of them as a member of the family unit.

Along with this argument, comes the fact that the true purpose of an allowance is to teach the child money management, not teach them to do chores. When giving an allowance, you should also be teaching your child to budget, save, and spend wisely (none of which I’m very good at myself).

On the flip side of that is the argument that as an adult he will be expected to work for his money. Zach knows that Mommy and Daddy go to work in order to have money for food, clothes, toys, etc. He understands that work is required to earn money. So, should I just hand him money with no expectations? Doesn’t that negate the idea that you have to put forth effort in order to meet your financial needs? I don’t know.

I’m still leaning toward an allowance in exchange for chores because it is what he has been asking for, but I’m thinking some things should just be expected of him without earning money for doing them as well. Maybe a base amount with a “bonus” if he keeps up with his chores would work? I don’t know.

I’m pretty sure I’m over thinking this whole thing, but I’m really curious to hear how other families handle it. Do your kids get an allowance? How old were they when they started receiving it? Do they do chores in exchange for earning allowance or are they just given a certain amount each week?

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I Wanna Rock!

Published by dee on August 11, 2009

The One2One Network recently offered up an opportunity to review the new Rock of Ages: Original Broadway Cast Recording and I jumped at the chance. All it took was one look at the track list to know I would love this album. I am a child of the 80’s after all! The track list is truly amazing, including many of my favorite 80’s tracks like Heaven, Sister Christian, Every Rose Has It’s Thorn, and Can’t Fight This Feeling. Oh, and if that isn’t enough, it also features a guy named Constantine Maroulis, who some of you might remember from a little show called American Idol.

Here’s a little bit about the show itself:

Rock of Ages is the new Broadway musical starring American Idol finalist Constantine Maroulis. Set in 1987 in a legendary Sunset Strip rock club, a small-town girl meets a big-city dreamer and they fall in love to the greatest metal songs of the 80’s. The musical is an arena-rock love story told through the mind-blowing, face-melting hits of Journey, Bon Jovi, Styx, Reo Speedwagon, Pat Benatar, Foreigner, Twisted Sister, Poison, Asia, Whitesnake and more.

While I really wish I could have a chance to see it on Broadway, the cd definitely does not disappoint. As is stated in the making of the soundtrack video, it is like a perfect 80’s mix tape. I’ve listened to it in my car and over and over again at work. If you’re expecting a perfect replica of the original songs, you’ll have a few surprises. But, if you keep in mind that the songs were recorded as part of a musical, you’ll love it. There is quite a bit of dialogue included in the recording as well, which helps you picture a bit of the story as you move through the songs. For me, the dialogue is a bit distracting, but I think it would help if I had seen the show and had all of the pieces of the story in my head.

I’ll definitely keep listening to the soundtrack and hope that someday I’ll get a chance to see Rock of Ages on stage!

Want to see the track list? Of course you do!

Just Like Paradise / Nothin’ But A Good Time
Sister Christian
We Built This City / Too Much Time On My Hands
I Wanna Rock
We’re Not Gonna Take It
Heaven/More Than Words / To Be With You
Waiting For A Girl Like You
Wanted Dead Or Alive
I Want To Know What Love Is
Cum On Feel The Noize / We’re Not Gonna Take It (Reprise)
Harden My Heart / Shadows Of The Night
Here I Go Again
The Final Countdown
Any Way You Want It / I Wanna Rock (Reprise)
High Enough
I Hate Myself For Loving You / Heat Of The Moment
Hit Me With Your Best Shot
Can’t Fight This Feeling
Every Rose Has Its Thorn
Oh Sherrie
The Search Is Over
Don’t Stop Believin

Seriously good songs, you guys. You can pick up your own copy of Rock Of Ages on Amazon and I highly recommend that you do.

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I ♥ Faces – Week 31 – Crazy, Silly, Funny Face

Published by dee on August 10, 2009

I’m not sure how the ladies at I ♥ Faces really expect us to be able to choose a “Crazy, Silly, Funny Face pic for this week’s challenge! With two goofy kids at home, most of my photos include some sort of funny face. As soon as the camera comes out, my 4-year-old starts acting like a clown. His little sister has started trying to imitate him now so many of her photos come out looking goofy as well. This one was shot during an impromptu picnic in the back yard. She started trying to make funny faces while she ate and I couldn’t resist capturing it!

Don’t forget to check out the other funny face entries over at I ♥ Faces!

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Just Keep Swimming…

Published by dee on August 7, 2009

One of my goals for the summer was to get Zachary in swimming lessons. He’s pretty comfortable in the water as long as he has some kind of floating device surrounding him. Arms and legs in the water are just fine, but if his head touches the water in any way, he kind of freaks out. (This makes washing his hair extra fun!)

So I decided, back in probably March or so, that he needed swimming lessons to help him become a little more comfortable and hopefully allow his head to touch the water. My mom sets a little 3 foot deep pool up in her back yard in the summer for the kids to swim in and I’d love to see him relax a bit when he’s in there.

Suddenly, it was the end of July. Summer was nearly over and I hadn’t gotten him signed up for lessons anywhere. I hadn’t even called to check prices/locations/etc. (I also failed to make the phone calls regarding preschool, but that’s another story.) Oops. Finally one day when I was at home with Evie because she was sick, I decided to call and get him signed up. I was happy to find a program that had evening lessons close to our house. Plus, it is only two days a week instead of M-F for two weeks straight like some that I’ve seen.

He finally started lessons on Monday. He was so excited and I was nervous as heck for some reason. We ended up getting there early because I wasn’t exactly sure where I was going and wanted to allow enough time to figure it out. Being early also allowed Zach some time to play around in the pool and get comfortable before he had to start.

He was a little unsure at first, but I could tell he quickly relaxed. I was a bit surprised (as was he!) that the instructor was dunking them under the water right away. As it turned out, I had nothing to fear because after his lesson he ran up to me and said, “Mom, I went under water and I LOVED IT!”

He couldn’t wait to go back on Wednesday, although I’m thinking that may have had something to do with the big slide that he gets to go down at the end of each lesson.

(My apologies for the horrible picture quality. These were taken with my tiny Pentax at an indoor pool with lots of zoom and less than stellar lighting conditions)

We’re off to the lake this weekend, where there will hopefully be lots of swimming, boating, and (if Zach gets his way) fishing. I’m also hoping to find some time to spend with my camera and will be filling the rest of the quiet moments reading Dad Gone Mad’s new book which arrived today, just in time for me to take it along.

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