You just go with the flow, turn on the music and everyone starts to dance!
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Peace and Quiet
Ahhh, so very elusive. I'm glad I don't get headaches easily! This is one of those moments - you get mad and start yelling at the kids to be quiet, which just causes more noise, OR...
You just go with the flow, turn on the music and everyone starts to dance!
You just go with the flow, turn on the music and everyone starts to dance!
No Such Luck
I was REALLY hoping that Shelly would be a little easier than Archer, that she wouldn't have the intense tantrums that he has, but last night reality struck - she's JUST LIKE her big brother. Unlucky me. Actually, maybe its not so bad, at least I know what I'm dealing with now. The arched back, throwing herself onto the floor, laying there face down sobbing, looking up every few minutes to make sure she still has my attention. Now I know better, I just walk away, move on, find something else to do. She and her brother both get bored with their tantrums and follow after me to see if they can be involved in whatever the next activity will be. Another point for me, I've already figured out my strategy, Shelly, unlucky for you!
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Parent Abuse
So we all know about child abuse, parents that don't treat their kids right, and kids being taken away to foster care to keep them safe. But what about parent abuse? Is there anyone out there to watch out for ME? I don't want to sound too selfish, but gosh, I think I deserve to be treated a little better than what those kids dish out to me!
Last night I was laying on the couch, trying to rest for a few minutes before making supper. Shelly was climbing all over me playing with the alphabet caterpillar that she got for Christmas. And suddenly, out of nowhere, that stupid green heavy plastic thing came crashing down on my face, with the greatest point of impact being my left EYE! It took everything in me not to scream out some obscene words and smash that stupid toy against the wall or something. After a couple minutes of crying, I thought I probably was not blinded for life and went back to TRYING to have just two more minutes of rest. I couldn't really stop thinking about whether or not I'd have a black eye, and as I was laying there with my eyes closed WHAM!!! Archer's elbow rammed right into my EYE! The same one that had just been smashed by the caterpillar!
I guess my mistake was closing my eyes in the company of the kids, not being more defensive. And probably my bigger mistake is expecting them to treat me better than they do. For one thing, they're too young for me to have that big of an expectation. And the other thing is, parenthood is about not expecting things in return, its about giving without knowing if you'll be repaid. And that's the biggest lesson, right? Giving without receiving.
Last night I was laying on the couch, trying to rest for a few minutes before making supper. Shelly was climbing all over me playing with the alphabet caterpillar that she got for Christmas. And suddenly, out of nowhere, that stupid green heavy plastic thing came crashing down on my face, with the greatest point of impact being my left EYE! It took everything in me not to scream out some obscene words and smash that stupid toy against the wall or something. After a couple minutes of crying, I thought I probably was not blinded for life and went back to TRYING to have just two more minutes of rest. I couldn't really stop thinking about whether or not I'd have a black eye, and as I was laying there with my eyes closed WHAM!!! Archer's elbow rammed right into my EYE! The same one that had just been smashed by the caterpillar!
I guess my mistake was closing my eyes in the company of the kids, not being more defensive. And probably my bigger mistake is expecting them to treat me better than they do. For one thing, they're too young for me to have that big of an expectation. And the other thing is, parenthood is about not expecting things in return, its about giving without knowing if you'll be repaid. And that's the biggest lesson, right? Giving without receiving.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Translating
I called Mom tonight and she asked me if we're having a party tomorrow. No, I told her, no party here.
Archer heard me talking and came over and said, Can I talk to Marty? Who's Marty? Can I talk?
I handed him the phone and he talked for a minute before he said to me, Hey, its not Marty! Its Grandma Shell!
Grandma Shell likes to call Archer Crash Bandycoot after a character in a kids book, Crash has a little sister called Coco. Whenever Archer repeats the nickname, he says Crash Bandycook (not cook like a chef in a kitchen but cook like a crazy person).
Today Brock was at our house for awhile and Archer was playing with him, calling Brock to come over and calling Shelly also. "Come here Brocky-kins, come here Shelly-kins!"
I love all the little mispronunced words that come of his mouth. Like when he was playing with his cousin and one was the doctor and the other a patient. "I'm going to the hosible!" Archer announced more than once. Ahh the translation skills required to be a parent...
Archer heard me talking and came over and said, Can I talk to Marty? Who's Marty? Can I talk?
I handed him the phone and he talked for a minute before he said to me, Hey, its not Marty! Its Grandma Shell!
Grandma Shell likes to call Archer Crash Bandycoot after a character in a kids book, Crash has a little sister called Coco. Whenever Archer repeats the nickname, he says Crash Bandycook (not cook like a chef in a kitchen but cook like a crazy person).
Today Brock was at our house for awhile and Archer was playing with him, calling Brock to come over and calling Shelly also. "Come here Brocky-kins, come here Shelly-kins!"
I love all the little mispronunced words that come of his mouth. Like when he was playing with his cousin and one was the doctor and the other a patient. "I'm going to the hosible!" Archer announced more than once. Ahh the translation skills required to be a parent...
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Priceless!
New sled from K Mart (because the one we had is somewhere buried in the garage or out in the yard, not to be found until springtime) - $9.99
Pit stop at McDonalds to fuel up on chicken nuggets and chocolate milk before the big outing - $6.43
Pit stop at the coffee shop after the big outing for hot chocolate to warm up - $3.16
Stories of the Big Crash that will go down in history - Priceless
Archer and I ventured out to a very big hill today for a sledding adventure. It was all going well until I convinced Archer to ride down the hill on my back, me laying on my stomach on the sled.
First, I searched out the best spot on the hill - the only place where you could actually SEE the bottom from where we were sitting at the top. (The hill was so steep that in most places you really couldn't see your path from where you started, it was like going over a cliff blind, hoping to come out ok on the bottom.) I scoped out the right spot, waited for our turn, lay down on the sled and then instructed Archer, "No matter what happens, don't let go. Hang on tight and DON'T let go!" I repeated these instructions about 20 times in the course of 60 seconds, and then... we were off!
Faster faster faster faster faster and I thought everything was going ok until... WE'RE FLYING!!! The only thought that went through my head was "NOT good!" We had hit a huge ramp which was not visible from above, completely without warning, and before either of us knew what had happened, we were airborne! I tumbled over once and skidded to a stop just in time to look in front of me and witness Archer flying through the air, tumbling around and around until finally landing and rolling over a couple more times before he stopped. Of course, he was screaming! I ignored my own injuries and scrambled over to him to pick him up and make sure there were no broken bones. His cheeks were bright red and one of his mittens was missing but he looked otherwise ok. As he cried and cried I said, "Archer honey what hurts?" "My whole BODY!" he yelled at me, as if to say "what kind of question is that?"
Just then I heard a whole new round of screaming and crying and turned around to see behind me a little girl who had just experienced the same fate as Archer and I. Her two friends were standing next to her unsure what to do and I looked around but didn't see an adult that belonged to them. I felt responsible - I set her up on her feet and asked her a few times if she was ok but she just kept crying. In the mean time one of her friends picked up Archer's mitten and brought it to me. There we stood, all five of us in shock and suddenly there was more shouting - an inbound sledder was heading straight at us! "Get out of the way!" I shouted as I tried to pull Archer to safety and warn the girls. All of this time I felt my nose hurting and something warm on my face, but when I finally took my glove off and wiped off my nose I found it was only snot, gross but luckily not blood. We had all escaped serious injury, the little girl's dad finally made his way down the hill and we all stumbled as quickly as we could over to the side of the hill to climb back to the top.
Archer didn't quit crying until we had gotten to the top but was finally distracted by throwing snowballs at me and the promise of hot chocolate on the way home.
I have to say it was a successful sledding outing! We got in a few runs down the hill before the catastrophe, there weren't any permanent injuries, and we had time for a stop at the coffee shop before we came home. Does it get any better than that?
(By the way, here's a video I found of the hill Archer and I were at. The official information is that the sledding run is a 60 degree incline, about 250 feet long. Now that's a steep hill! Click on the link to see the video...)
Pit stop at McDonalds to fuel up on chicken nuggets and chocolate milk before the big outing - $6.43
Pit stop at the coffee shop after the big outing for hot chocolate to warm up - $3.16
Stories of the Big Crash that will go down in history - Priceless
Archer and I ventured out to a very big hill today for a sledding adventure. It was all going well until I convinced Archer to ride down the hill on my back, me laying on my stomach on the sled.
First, I searched out the best spot on the hill - the only place where you could actually SEE the bottom from where we were sitting at the top. (The hill was so steep that in most places you really couldn't see your path from where you started, it was like going over a cliff blind, hoping to come out ok on the bottom.) I scoped out the right spot, waited for our turn, lay down on the sled and then instructed Archer, "No matter what happens, don't let go. Hang on tight and DON'T let go!" I repeated these instructions about 20 times in the course of 60 seconds, and then... we were off!
Faster faster faster faster faster and I thought everything was going ok until... WE'RE FLYING!!! The only thought that went through my head was "NOT good!" We had hit a huge ramp which was not visible from above, completely without warning, and before either of us knew what had happened, we were airborne! I tumbled over once and skidded to a stop just in time to look in front of me and witness Archer flying through the air, tumbling around and around until finally landing and rolling over a couple more times before he stopped. Of course, he was screaming! I ignored my own injuries and scrambled over to him to pick him up and make sure there were no broken bones. His cheeks were bright red and one of his mittens was missing but he looked otherwise ok. As he cried and cried I said, "Archer honey what hurts?" "My whole BODY!" he yelled at me, as if to say "what kind of question is that?"
Just then I heard a whole new round of screaming and crying and turned around to see behind me a little girl who had just experienced the same fate as Archer and I. Her two friends were standing next to her unsure what to do and I looked around but didn't see an adult that belonged to them. I felt responsible - I set her up on her feet and asked her a few times if she was ok but she just kept crying. In the mean time one of her friends picked up Archer's mitten and brought it to me. There we stood, all five of us in shock and suddenly there was more shouting - an inbound sledder was heading straight at us! "Get out of the way!" I shouted as I tried to pull Archer to safety and warn the girls. All of this time I felt my nose hurting and something warm on my face, but when I finally took my glove off and wiped off my nose I found it was only snot, gross but luckily not blood. We had all escaped serious injury, the little girl's dad finally made his way down the hill and we all stumbled as quickly as we could over to the side of the hill to climb back to the top.
Archer didn't quit crying until we had gotten to the top but was finally distracted by throwing snowballs at me and the promise of hot chocolate on the way home.
I have to say it was a successful sledding outing! We got in a few runs down the hill before the catastrophe, there weren't any permanent injuries, and we had time for a stop at the coffee shop before we came home. Does it get any better than that?
(By the way, here's a video I found of the hill Archer and I were at. The official information is that the sledding run is a 60 degree incline, about 250 feet long. Now that's a steep hill! Click on the link to see the video...)
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Ups and Downs
As I put on my shoes and sweatshirt today, getting ready to leave the house, Archer asked me what I was up to. The kid asks about a billion questions a day and I really try not to get annoyed but sometimes they're just dumb questions (yes I know he's only 3 years old, they're dumb even for a 3 year old). Anyway, this wasn't one of those times, he really stays on top of things...
Mom, are you going to work? (pause) On the treadmill, or what? (He says this with his eyebrows raised, looking up at me with a very serious expression, sounding like someone much older than three.)
No, I'm going out for a little bit.
Outside? You're going to work outside? On what?
No, I'm going to work at the office...
Why is it that he can drive me so COMPLETELY crazy with his constant whining, crying, tantrums, to the point that I just want to go to WORK on the weekend to get a break from the crying, and the minute I'm about to walk out the door he's the sweetest little boy I've ever met?
The day of Shelly's birthday party he was UNBELIEVEABLY bad. And the very next day, when we went out to dinner, he was the nicest person, coloring quietly, making conversation with us, saying please and thank you, not crawling on and under the table... When I told Denise about it she said "Just hang onto those moments, Amy." And she's right, hang onto the good ones so when the bad ones come around I can remember why its still worth all the bad moments - those good ones are too good to let go.
Mom, are you going to work? (pause) On the treadmill, or what? (He says this with his eyebrows raised, looking up at me with a very serious expression, sounding like someone much older than three.)
No, I'm going out for a little bit.
Outside? You're going to work outside? On what?
No, I'm going to work at the office...
Why is it that he can drive me so COMPLETELY crazy with his constant whining, crying, tantrums, to the point that I just want to go to WORK on the weekend to get a break from the crying, and the minute I'm about to walk out the door he's the sweetest little boy I've ever met?
The day of Shelly's birthday party he was UNBELIEVEABLY bad. And the very next day, when we went out to dinner, he was the nicest person, coloring quietly, making conversation with us, saying please and thank you, not crawling on and under the table... When I told Denise about it she said "Just hang onto those moments, Amy." And she's right, hang onto the good ones so when the bad ones come around I can remember why its still worth all the bad moments - those good ones are too good to let go.
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