Monday, April 6, 2009

Gazillion Things, Crazy Mind, and Voting

Hmmm...what to write. I have a million, gazillion things floating around in my head. From what I need to do tomorrow, to what I have to do to get ready, to my last three whirlwind days... Craziness! : ) and some fun!

Sunday was church (I laid out the cute new sundress, sandals covered in flowers, and a sweater in case it was chilly). HA! Mother Nature played a trick on me!! It was frigid!! Mary Claire had to add leggings, socks, and Keds (as the little sandals just wouldn't work. For more than one reason!). It was just sad. I had finally rotated her clothes, and not on the right day, obviously. I thought we had some serious global warming going on? What? Arkansas didn't get that memo! We've decided to have winter in April! We've seen snow in March, but ick. Down with snow (in April-but bring it on in December-when we EXPeCT it!!)!

Baby bookworms was today-and Ms. Shae was back!! She's just awesome. I love her. I don't think I can tell her that, but I came near it today. If I needed a nanny/babysitter, I'd pick her! She'd sing and be sweet, and read, and bring bells and books (and maybe wear a microphone?). She is just so in tune with the kids, adores them, and moves the class right along. Yay, Ms. Shae! She deserves a trophy. You know, if I was giving out awards. Maybe I'll have a ceremony, coming soon!!
Send in your votes:
Best Children's Storytime Leader/Teacher:
Best Local Library:
Best Spring Flower Show (residential):
Best Cheerful Early Morning Greeting:
Friendliest Police Officer:
Sweetest Friend Who Always Comments:
Best Cake Blog:
Busiest Mom I know (not me, well, I'm disqualified):
Best Company to work for in NWA:
Best Egg-Gatherer:
Best Spring Wreath:
Best Laundry Do-er:
Fastest Responder on FB:

Ok, copy and paste your votes. Voting ends April 8th at midnight.

ps-I just found out one of our sweet friends who has diabetes also has celiac disease (can't eat gluten: wheat, barley, rye, oats, etc.). Please keep them in your prayers as they deal with one more obstacle. When your immune system is compromised, it's very difficult. They are bravely facing one more thing, but it's tough. May you and your babies all be blessed this week. We can be thankful for what we have: each other. Bind, bond, and look up.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Eat Out Strike!

Yesterday Mary Claire had her field trip to the ACO for Arkansas Storytelling, then she went to JB Hunt Park. I met them there, to check her blood and give her a lunch bolus on her pump. She was fine, but I did worry about her playing from a little after 11 till 12:30!! That's a super-long recess, and I didn't want her to go low! She ended up doing fine- I just worry about her a lot! She's been super-sensitive to lows-she's laid down on the floor probably three times in the last two days telling me she feels low. Once was 51-a true low, and today it was 72. I guess that'd be low for you or me, but not her. We were cleaning her room, so 'nuf said.

Ches and Clay went to the boy scouts' Extravaganza (and brought back a very loud neon yellow T-shirt) today. He got to shoot a beebee gun, shoot a bow and arrow, play flag football (and intercepted the football!), and goodness, had a great day! : ) They came home in time for dinner, but Mary Claire and I were not ready!! We'd debated on taking our baths, but playing was so much more fun! We made her a wreath for her door (which she's been waiting for about 6 weeks now?), changed out all her bedding and curtains (remember the PB ones we got in Memphis?) and moved the bed on an angle. It was all I could manage alone, but she's happy. Now I have little man unhappy since he wants to change his too (and he just got all new furniture and bedding last year!!). We had a great day together, and Ethan just played around us, causing general mayhem. Let's see... he: threw a car at my *glass* shower door, hurled a new box of Huggies diapers down the stairs (and hit the first picture on the wall as they went down at a break-neck speed) as I was screaming, "NO!!", slammed a huge yellow car into Mary Claire's glass dollhouse table (I know.), threw a toy at Mary Claire, threw a big block full of water all over me-my back, hair, and the toilet/bathroom!, should I stop now? This was all today. Yeah, only I'm not kidding. He was in the naughty chair each time. It shocks me that he stays there. And by the end of the day, my patience was a little thin. When he climbed up on a chair, pulling at Mary Claire's new curtains, I gave him a deep, "Get Down" kinda in a deep growl, I'm-gonna-get-you sound. I maintained eye-contact, and that kid got down. Go, me. Ahh, the two stage. Not the best, that's for sure.

Then we went to eat-after the speedy shower for the girls. We drove around: Olive Garden was 20-25 minutes (can't take a wait with the tiny one), didn't have a number to call in an order at Guido's (we call first, walk in, eat, leave-works extremely well: Tim's and Chili's are in my phone), Ches wouldn't go to Jose's (said he couldn't get in the turning lane. Likely.), Clay objected to Red Robin, so we went to Panera. We walked in, got food, and ate. Clay wasn't hungry, and ordered french bread and chocolate milk, and Ethan wouldn't eat anything, so we ordered him a strawberry smoothie (he drank a tiny bit), and Mary Claire gobbled up her pbj, rejected her organic yogurt (Clay ate it), then everyone had dessert (whether they should've or not). We all shared, so it wasn't so bad. (Then Ethan ran over to the seating area-read: couch by people eating alone), took off his shoe, and got comfy, then screamed when Clay tried to bring him back, therefore disturbing Quiet, Alone People. That's why I like to stay home these days. It's just too much work. Even if the food's good, it's just miserable (except sitting in the sun today at the high table, it was warm, and my soup was yummy). Ok, we'll try again next week. By then, amnesia will set in again!

I have to say that being home all day has its advantages: clean sheets, clean laundry (and put away), clean bathroom, clean towels, clean kitchen floor, clean carpet, and dust-free furniture! It helps that Ches drove the van away this morning! : ) I couldn't do it every week, but it was nice. I'm planning to have EAster dinner (and egg-hunting) here next week, so maybe I was preparing??? So no one sees my dust and grime? and knows how it looks the rest of the time? ; ) heehee

It's already 12:23am. How does this happen? I just can't get it all in. What happened to post-France time schedule? I was up early, showered, before the kids got up in the morning, and was in bed by 9 or 10. I've slipped back into my real zone-late and later. Maybe a trip back East would get me back in gear?? : ) I'll work on that one! : )

Oh, I do sleep peacefully when my sheets are clean. : ) I wish you all clean sheets tonight.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

1-2-3 Magic!

I'm still waiting for my farm to load over on FB. I got a new banana tree! I have been playing diligently for a couple of weeks, and still I only have about 8 things open for me to send to people. What's up with that??
Ok, have farmed, and all my ground crops went to waste. It's been too long since I harvested. Boo. I'm losing points. What more could I do to waste time???

Ok, back to life, back to reality.
Today I debated on taking Ethan to gymnastics. I have already decided I'm not continuing to take him this summer. Can you imagine me taking the three kids-Clay and Mary Claire upstairs watching, wreaking havoc, and me and Ethan downstairs (me chasing him around)? No, not a pretty sight. So, I was ready to call it quits. I mean it was for him to expend energy, not to grow up to be a gymnast (although he is amazingly flexible: he can do the splits, lay his head down on his legs, do forward and backward rolls). So, today I stupidly paid for the next month (and he was horrible in class). Am I glutton for punishment? Seriously? I'll have to drop him soon, I'll see how I feel next week. I feel bad if I drop at the first of the month, and they are without the payment. However, if I quit in the middle of the month, they have time to find a newbie to fill the spot, and I've paid, so don't have any guilt. Be watching for my quitting-ness.

In other news, I had a head/brain/eye-crushing headache today. I've been CT-scanned a few years ago (with and without contrast: read IV!!), and they've found no big problems (although my stress level was through the roof since I cried the entire time (not knowing it was with contrast!!!). Anyway, they are migraine-proportion, and not much helps except sleep (read dark room, no noise). Ethan chose today to sleep (or just be quiet?) for under an hour. What happened?? Don't know-just didn't help the headache. It's partly tension (all that laundry/unpacking/mess all over the kitchen) and partly missing sleep. I need a vacation from all that vacation fun!

I learned all about 1-2-3 Magic as I read on the trip. I've been using it with the kids, and with progress!! The biggest thing I've learned is that I have to say what I need to say, then shut up. It's the arguing with them or explaining my point that is all wrong. You don't allow/listen to the whine/argue/begging/anger. You just dismiss it, as they are using manipulation. I read that if your kids use one kind of manipulation more than all the others, you're in trouble: because that technique must be paying off for them! So, no more after the counting for misbehavior. Then the time out/consequence after you've counted, and no sorry's or talking after it's over. They know what they did wrong (or you explain if it was a new misbehavior), and their sorry usually isn't very sincere. Just let them start over with a clean slate (kinda like God does with us! only we usually say sorry). We assume they are little adults and try to reason with them, but they aren't. More talking doesn't teach them. (I'm sure I'll still talk lots to teach, but not in the midst of misbehavior!) I actually didn't get very ruffled today making dinner with one trying hard not to do his homework (got counted, then went to room to finish), another whining didn't want to do her hw, and one throwing a fit on the kitchen floor after repeatedly opening the refrigerator and door and screaming for cheese!!! He also got in the naughty chair (his time out), then in the high chair for blueberries (another book I read-if they are truly starving, set out fruit or veggies and if they get full before dinner, they've eaten healthy!). I'm a winner today! : ) ...Funny thing is, I had a friend ask me if I'd read this about 4 or 5 years ago. Why didn't I listen more carefully and read between the lines??

Then took Clay to boy scouts. Another life experience. They kept laughing all night about tooting (one kids walked off, and the leader *his dad* told him to come back. He brought back stink, and the little meeting broke off *ran off* for a few minutes and laughed so hard! You'd never see this with girls!!), and they were so loud and crazy. Unbelievable. When I have more time, I'll do more storytelling.

I must get to bed, as I'm trying to avoid the headache tomorrow-busy day ahead!

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Travel (with your family) is not for the faint of heart

I’m stressed, and stress brings on writing-I guess it’s therapeutic, like journal writing. I’m hungry, the kids are hungry, and we are driving on. We are in the middle ground-between decent places to drain our excretory systems and feed our digestive systems (too many museums in one week) and nothing. It’s wide-open (but nice) highway out in Tennessee. We’ve stopped at two gas stations to let Mary Claire go to the bathroom. The first stop was McDonald’s (decent) and we got apple walnut salads for snacks, and the second was awful. It was a gas station (opposite a truck stop) so of course I chose the gas station. It was dirty: the bathrooms were dirty, no locks on the doors (so Clay accidentally walked in on someone and started crying), there was a bar of soap (like Underwood’s bathroom-which I told them about), and the food had DUST on it. Gross. I dug down to the bottom of the box to get a non-dusty (if not old) bar of chocolate (Special Dark-when I mean business, but with the fewest possible number of calories, FYI), and a bottle of my fave: Aquafina (know it’s wrong to have a crush and water-favorite, but I do!). I went to check out, and the guy was watching me (maybe he’ll dust the candy!). I gave him a five, and he went to hand me my change, then popped the change in the air, caught it and handed it to me. I don’t know if this is a rare skill he chose to impress me (or cheer me since he’d seen me in and out of the restroom with three kids barking not to set my dog-gone purse down on the floor AGAIN! while I was going since there were no hooks/locks/shelves free of bar soap slime). I was freakin’ out, people! So I laughed at his impressive flip/catch/handoff and was thankful for the break in tension.

Then more driving, and lunch. We stopped at a relatively decent place on the east side of Memphis (only a couple miles from Wolfchase Galleria, if only we’d known…) and Ches went in to do the exam (to see if he approved of the food-relatively free of food poisoning after him not eating with us the other day!). We got the nod, and went in. Ethan ate standing up, as usual. He only sits to eat if belted in his booster seat at home or if eating in his car seat! The kids had pizzas and we had sandwiches. When we were ready to go, Ethan sat on his drink (on the table), and it crushed the sides of the cup-it went all over Ches’ shorts and Ethan’s pants. Heh heh heh. Sorry. Anyway, we have clothes! Ches put on a new T and new Nike shorts he bought yesterday and Ethan has on a new pair of capri/pants from Carters (so versatile!). We are back on the road. We are hoping for a great nap from Ethan, and no stops till we are on the west side of Little Rock. Clay is still wii’ing with Mario Kart, and Mary Claire and Ethan are watching a movie. Ches is the only one plugged into reality, as he is our designated driver (his position of choice. I’ve volunteered to drive so he could stomp Clay at Mario Kart, but I think he knows he’s too competitive and it’s crampy back there!).

He admitted today how mad he got yesterday when he lost at the laser shoot-em-up game where you get the pathogens with the gun. He said he just knew he was ahead, so he laid off on the fourth round (that’s what they all say..), and that GiRL next to him beat him 21,000 to 19,000 points! He was ahead of her by thousands, but she took over! He was so mad-it was funny (only to me, in a quiet kind of way)! He says he never thought he’d be like his dad-fiercely competitive, but here he is. And he’s trying not to play Clay too much, cause it comes out! I worry about Clay-we have very competitive family on all sides. I have laid off in the last few years, figuring if I win it was meant to be (and playing with kids drains the competition, you just know you’re smarter and don’t need to prove it). Anyway, it’s in our blood, so he’ll get there, good or bad.

Well, it’s therapeutic just to write it all down. Maybe that’s why I keep it up. An online journal, or just a debriefing. Or a way to get it off my chest. Almost like writing it down and throwing it away-except for the publishing it on the internet part. : )

Now I’m releasing all my stress, and planning my next few moments and days. Tomorrow we’re home and back “on”. We have Ethan’s gymnastics in the morning then Clay’s boy scouts in the evening (and I must return the two Red Box movies we rented today and get groceries as I’m sure our milk is chunky by now). Ches has a meeting tomorrow night, so I’ll have to take Clay to scouts. Then Friday Mary Claire has a field trip so I’ll meet them for lunch at the park so I can check her blood and give her a lunch bolus. I’m ***stress as Ches is following the truck in front of us too closely!!**** not planning to go into Clay’s class to help with writing since they have a Husky Howl this Friday. Okay, I must stop. This could go on all day!!