Category: Life

2 kids, 2 dogs, 2 cats, and 1 husband – life isn’t perfect, but it is what we make it

Slime!

Published by dee on September 16, 2010

It has been a rather rough week around our house, so after dinner last night I thought we needed to do something fun. In this case, fun = slime!

I came across a super easy recipe for making slime at home over on Our Best Bites a few days ago and decided we just had to make some. We already had all of the ingredients except for the Borax so I picked up a box when I was out running errands yesterday to have it on hand.

The kids both helped pour the ingredients in and then we watched as the liquid changed into clumps, and eventually a nice ball of slime. They thought it was SO! COOL! and played with it for quite a while afterward.

We’ll definitely be doing this again. Poor Evie was not happy with her brother’s color choice, so we’re going to have to make some red (or maybe PINK) slime next time around. I want to try it with the clear glue that it mentions in the post but we didn’t have any of that at home.

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For those following along regarding the bullying that I posted about yesterday, I was able to talk to Zach’s teacher this morning and am feeling much better about things. She already has plans for making some changes in the classroom (seating arrangements, etc.) that should help. Also, he’ll be sent to the restroom by himself rather than in a group to alleviate problems happening there. She expressed some concerns about things he is doing in class that we will both work on with him. All of the changes will take time, but I feel like we are moving in the right direction. I’m very thankful that he has a teacher that cares and wants him to be successful at school. I’m also very thankful for all of you, my incredibly supportive friends and family. Your comments both here and on Facebook really helped me get through the day yesterday without pulling my hair out.

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Bullying in Kindergarten

Published by dee on September 15, 2010

One month in the public school system and I’m ready to bring my babies home, lock the doors for good, and home school them until they’re 25. Please note that it has nothing to do with the teaching. I do believe that my son has an excellent teacher, probably the best that I could ask for. He’s excited to learn. It amazes me how much he has picked up on over the last four weeks.

He was flipping through a book last night as I was putting laundry away, pointed to a word and said, “Mommy, that says ‘me’!” Indeed it did. He was so pleased with himself, and so was I. He is a smart kid and so willing and ready to learn.

I knew kindergarten would be hard. I knew there would be adjustments to make. I knew he would be tired and that he most likely would come home with a new sassy attitude that he would pick up from his peers. I was somewhat prepared for that.

What I wasn’t prepared for was him getting picked on. I wasn’t prepared for my little bitty 5-year-old to come home telling me that a kid pushed him down and his foot was hurting because of it, or that another kid tried to push his head into the toilet, or that a kid was pushing him every time they got in line, or that another kid “spanked” him in the restroom. I especially wasn’t prepared for him to tell me that he was the one that got in trouble for it all because the other kid ran ahead and told the teacher that Zachary did it first.

I can’t say that Zachary wasn’t at fault. I would be almost certain that he’s not telling 100% of the truth because he’s afraid he’ll be in trouble at home too. I know he has pushed back, hit, and even on one occasion bit another kid, but I’m guessing that most of the time it was provoked. He’s not an aggressive kid and most of the time tends to shy away from confrontation.

Yes, I’ve talked to the teacher. Notes have been sent home. E-mails have been exchanged. I’m currently waiting on her to get back to me regarding a meeting time so we can discuss this whole thing again. I’m willing to do anything to get this to stop.

I’ve discussed it as much as possible with Zach, but he shuts down when I bring it up. He doesn’t want to talk about it for long. I remind him as I drop him off every day to be nice to the other kids, to tell the teacher if someone does something to him, and not to hit or push back if someone does something to him.

After missing recess yesterday (because he got caught hitting back the kid who “spanked” him) he spent nearly the entire evening in tears. Every little thing just set him off again.

I’ve spent most of the day today trying to hold back my own tears. For the last three weeks I have felt like there is a huge brick laying on my chest that I can’t shake off. I certainly can’t keep him out of school, but I just want to grab him up and run as far away as possible. I hate that I can’t protect him from all of this. I hate that I can’t just fix it.

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Soccer Was A Big Win

Published by dee on September 14, 2010

It may be an inconvenience to my schedule, but it is absolutely worth it to see the big smiles on my boy.

So what if dinner was at 7:30 last night? He loves soccer.

His little sister also loves soccer now and would like to “play soccer practice too.”

Practice again on Thursday. His very first game on Saturday. We can’t wait.

Does this make me a soccer mom or do I have to have the mini-van first?

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Dear Body

Published by dee on September 13, 2010

Dear Body,

It is time for us to have a little chat. I really thought that we were getting a little more in sync with each other, but this past month or so you’ve been letting me down.

Back in July, I was feeling good. You were doing your part – exercising, not pushing me toward the chocolate when I wanted to feed you zucchini, and just being there for me when I needed you. Things were going really well.

Then August came along. You performed really well for me on race day. I even gave you a bit of a break the week after with the intention of revving back up after a few days of rest. The problem is, you never really revved back up. Workouts have been sluggish and most of the time you won’t even let me wake up to do them. I diligently set the alarm for 5:30 every day, giving you plenty of time to wake by 6:00 for our morning run but you keep hitting the snooze and letting me sleep right through. Are you really just trying to sabotage all of my efforts?

Then there is the whole sleeping thing itself. Why can you not just rest when it is time to rest? I know there is the whole allergy onslaught that happens every year around this time that is making you tired. Then, there is the stress of Zachary starting school, the new routine, the tantruming 2-year-old, and the fact that you rarely even get to sit down in the evenings until after 9:00. All of this should make you more tired. When you actually get to go to bed you should be ready to sleep, not toss and turn all night long so that I feel completely drained the next day like I haven’t slept at all (except for those sweet hours between 5:00-7:00 when you seem to want to sleep while I should be waking up). I mean really, it can’t possibly be me keeping you up when all I want is eight glorious hours of sleep, right?

Oh, and about all those chocolate chip cookies you keep shoving in your mouth? STOP IT. I know we’re a little short on groceries right now, but I’ve been coming up with nice (fairly) healthy meals for you despite that challenge. There’s really no reason to keep showing off and proving the point that I have no control over you. You are not going to starve. I know for a fact there are plenty of reserves down there in the hip region.

I really only have three requests:

Give me a good solid 7-8 hours of sleep a night without tossing and turning or strange back pains.
Wake up on time for a run at least 3-4 times a week.
Quit shoving junk into your mouth.

I don’t think that’s too much to ask. Can we work together on this? I’ve given up a lot for you, including my Diet Coke (well, all but one a day anyway) which fuels me throughout the day with its wonderful caffeine flow. I really think you should work with me here.

Oh, and there is one more thing. If you could just dissolve that little cyst in my foot that is causing me problems, that would be great. I might even forgive you for the cookies.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at your earliest convenience (as long as it is not in the middle of the night).

Sincerely,

The Brain

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I Think This Is The New Normal

Published by dee on September 10, 2010

I’ve been trying to put more effort into writing here lately, but this week sort of slipped away from me. After getting back from our awesome weekend at the lake, we had to jump right back in to real life. Real life isn’t nearly as much fun.

On top of raging allergies (for 3 of the 4 of us) it has been a busy, busy, week full of things that I just didn’t want to do. One of those things included sitting at the eyeglasses store with a restless 5-year-old for over an hour waiting for them to replace the frames that have broken a million and one times now. They finally replaced them free of charge, though they didn’t have the exact same frames available. They did have a similar style that his lenses would fit in, but black instead of brown. At least the lenses seem to stay in these…so far.

Then there were more problems at school for Zach, which I’ve been asked to discuss with his teacher next week. There’s the fight to get homework done every night, the baths, the bedtime routine. It all just wears me out. Not to mention the fact that Miss Evie seems to have found her attitude all of a sudden and it isn’t a pleasant one.

On Thursday, Zach was supposed to have his first soccer practice and he was SO excited. So excited that when he found out it was canceled due to rain, he dropped to the floor and cried. Poor kid. I felt really bad for him, but I guess he’ll be extra excited when he gets to have TWO practices next week.

The canceled practice was a bit of a blessing for me, because it allowed me to get the kids settled down a little earlier for bed and I got to actually sit and watch the Saints game with Hubby while simultaneously editing photos and crocheting. Nothing like multi-tasking! I’m trying to get a head start on holiday projects this year and the cooler temperatures have really gotten me in the mood to play with some yarn. I’ve done a lot of knitting in the last few years, but for some reason I’ve been in the mood to pull out the crochet hooks lately. One project down – lots to go.

This weekend Hubby’s on call for work so we’ll be sticking close to home. There’s lots of cleaning to be done, the pool at mom’s house to get packed away for another year, and hopefully some time for some creative projects and relaxing. If I’m lucky I might even get a good run in. Next week will be another busy one, so I want to enjoy the weekend as much as possible.

And with that, I’ll post some happy weekend at the lake pictures.

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Blue Skies Ahead

Published by dee on September 3, 2010

This picture is all kinds of wrong technically, but I absolutely love it. It’s not often I’m able to capture my three favorite people all together and smiling.

This week has been a little rough. We’ve been really busy every night, throwing off our regular routines. There has been some yucky stuff going on at school with Zach that has had me really upset (and him) but hopefully we’re getting that sorted out. Evie has had some of the worst “terrible twos” behavior that we’ve seen yet (though I think she is cutting more molars which may be part of the problem). The A/C in my car is out (again) and our garage door (the one that was still working) broke (literally broke into two pieces) as we were backing out of the driveway.

I hit a real low spot about mid-way through the week and just felt completely defeated. As I sunk into my bed that night, I prayed for guidance and strength. Coincidence or not, as I drove to work the next morning I saw a rainbow ahead of me. On my way home I saw another one. And this morning? Another one. Rainbows seem to be all around me all of a sudden, but maybe I’m just opening my eyes a bit more. Today I feel calm and things are definitely looking up.

This weekend we’re headed to the lake to spend time with family. I’m looking forward to finally having some time to relax and forget about the craziness for a few days. The kids can’t wait to go out on Grandpa’s boat and to go fishing. I can’t wait to sleep past 6:00 a.m.

To those of you in the U.S., enjoy your Labor Day weekend!

P.S. Have you checked out #dofunstuff yet? You really should!

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