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Getting Rusty

7 Dec

How long did I work as a producer? Checking other people’s scripts and graphics for grammar and spelling?  Now, I can’t even catch a stupid typo on a Christmas card we made ourselves!

Being the obsessive, perfectionist I am – I begged Andrew to say ok to ordering more.  I just couldn’t imagine trying to doctor up the mistake – it would look so bad to me.  Anyway, I think those of you who are reading this should get one of the cards with the typo.  Then, it will be a special thing that you shared with us.  (Really I’m just being cheap because I don’t want to order as many as we did before so some people were going to get the boo-booed ones anyway!)  Just think of it like a game – be the first person to get the card and catch the typo.  The prize could be a typo-free card next year!

I LOVE YOU GUYS! Mary Krismass!

 

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Successful Santa Visit!

3 Dec

The only tears that were shed were mine!

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Don’t want to jinx it but…

28 Nov

We’ve spent two days at the Y and have had two days without any violent incidents!

One lady who watches Nate told me she would never write him up because she knows he’s not a mean kid.  She says the only time she’s ever seen him act aggressive/rough with another kid was when the kid tried to take a toy he was holding.  I even talked to the lady who wrote him up about how stressed I am about the whole thing because I wouldn’t know what I would do if I couldn’t go to the Y.  (Here’s where I feel sorry for myself because I have no friends here since Monica moved away.)  She told me there are kids who are far, far worse than Nate and that I really shouldn’t worry about it. That’s semi-comforting but I still can’t help but be a little worried.

As far as what Andrew and I have done to break Nate of his bully behavior, well, I don’t really know for sure.  We’ve been putting him in his crib for timeout EVERY time he pushes or hits, even if he’s just playing.  (And I’m happy to say the amount of time he’s spent behind bars has significantly dropped.)  I also make him say (try to say) “sorry for pushing/hitting” to Nia and I tell him “no push” and “no hit” and have him repeat it to me right before we go into the Y.

All we can do is keep doing what we’ve been doing and hope it all sinks in to that tiny hard skull of his.

 

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Let’s Do This Thing!

23 Nov

So, I’ve decided to be one of the crazies tomorrow and try to save a few dollars during those ridiculous “Doorbuster!” sales.  I’m planning on sneaking out of the house around 4:30 am while the kids and Andrew stay warm and cozy in bed.

I don’t have my hopes up or any expectations of actually getting the item I want that’s on sale – I’m just going to go there and be as mellow as I possibly can be and maybe even have a good laugh or two watching other people freak out over toys or electronics.   If I get what I wanted then cool.  If not, then at least I was entertained.

It will be the first time I ever witnessed the insanity of the “Morning After” in person.  I always just watched it on television (mostly through the newscasts I produced).  I remember having a range of opinions about what I saw.  Those people are nuts.  It kind of looks like fun.  Is it really worth it?  They were in line at what time?

I guess I’ll find out tomorrow  – dark and way too early in the morning!

 

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It’s Me versus the Bird

22 Nov

I’ve been really lucky.  I’ve only ever had to cook an entire Thanksgiving dinner by myself one time.  It’s just worked out that we would be visiting family or our family would be visiting us so I didn’t have to cook.  That’s a good thing.  It’s not that I’m a bad cook or anything – I have issues when it comes to the main character of the meal.

It’s just – it still looks so much like it did when it was alive.  I mean, with ground beef/steak – it doesn’t look like a cow.  Bacon does not look like a pig.  Chicken breast/nuggets/strips do not resemble a little feathered friend.  And, in the case of the turkey – there’s more than it just still looking like a turkey – it’s also that they come with those bits and pieces and you have to reach in that orifice and pull out bags of mushy junk.

I’ve already asked Andrew to do the really dirty work but it’s still so hard for me to enjoy the taste of the cooked turkey after seeing what it once was and doing all the final prep work to really “finish” him off.

I’m disturbed  – but not so much that I would boycott the bird altogether.  I guess, I’ll see how it all turns out tomorrow.

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Never Too Old for Slumber Parties

16 Nov

It’s funny because if we still lived in Savannah, I would be able to enjoy the company of good friends whenever I wanted.  I would be able to call them up on any random day and say “let’s meet up for dinner.”  I would be able to spend any weekend afternoon at the park with them or brave the mall with babies in tow.  As much as I would love to be able to do those things, one thing living several hours away has done is require SLEEP OVERS!

I have always loved having friends stay over my house.  My mom spoiled me by letting me have anywhere from 5 to 12 pre-teen/teen girls keep her awake with our giggles and screams and New Kids on the Block song renditions (choreographed dances included).  Now that I’m older, the sleep overs have changed – we sure don’t stay up very late (1 am was insane!), we are now legally allowed to drink as much alcohol as we dare to, our conversations are about kids and money instead of which boy is cute and clothes/hair/weight – oh wait I’m wrong about that last one – weight is still a topic – but anyway – some things never change – like the comfort and security and sanity that good friends provide.

I loved getting to spend so much time with Ginger, Lee and Cami last weekend.  We didn’t even have to do anything and it was fun.  Watching the kids play – fun.  Sitting on the couch and chillin’ (often with laptops) – fun.  Heading out to Winder’s Fall Festival without knowing if it would be lame or not – fun (actually lots of fun).  It was just so awesome getting my “friend fix” for 4 days straight and being able to celebrate Ginger’s birthday with her.  I can only hope that we always try to do our best to share as many special events as we can together.  After all, Ginger was part of one of the most special events in my life (Nia’s birth) and it just feels so natural to have our families grow up together.  (And maybe even be able to watch our girls share more sleep overs!)

So Comfy

 

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From a Kid’s Eye View…

6 Nov
  • Everything is “included” when it comes to toys –
    Nia will watch a commercial featuring some toy horses and a stable and she won’t notice how cute the animals are or all the neat things that come with the stable – she’ll notice the green outdoor carpet underneath it all and exclaim, “Look Momma!  It comes with grass!”
  • Toys are much better in commercials than they are in real life –
    Sometimes the commercial will use animation to help portray that something gives off a scent – Nia will see that and say, “Momma, the strawberries fly out of their bellies!” Oh and the new thing that gets me is these commercials featuring these well-kept little girls in their perfect princess outfits playing with an unbroken kitchen set – in real life those princess dresses would be torn in places and the girls would have like brownie on their face with milk mustaches and the kitchen would be missing some essential cooking utensils plus the oven door would be hanging off – I mean come on!  I want to see some true to life kid toy commercials!  The carpet needs to be dirty and the kitchen set needs to have some crayon on it!  To make it even more real – throw in a little brother who’s trying to sit in the refrigerator and totally ruining the cookies his big sis is trying to bake!
  • You really mean what you say –
    The first time I told Nia, “momma’s just gonna go jump in the shower real quick” she replied “can I come see you jump in?  are you going to jump like this?” (acting out a jump)
  • Yesterday is today and tomorrow is yesterday –
    It is so freakin’ hard to teach this concept!  I even tried writing it down but what good will that do?  Kid can’t read yet! Andrew’s mom says to tell her we’ll be doing something in so many “sleeps.”  Like, “In 3 more sleeps (night-nights) and we’ll be going to the zoo!”
  • Hopping forward with one leg in haphazardly front of the other IS skipping –
    Yet another really hard thing to teach.
  • You don’t need to look forward to drive a car –
    I cannot even tell you how many times Nia will say, “Momma, look” while I’m trying to drive.  I tell her that I can’t turn around while I’m driving and that if I do I will boo-boo the car.  As soon as I am stopped at a red light though, she tells me that now I can look at her because I’m not driving anymore. Too smart for me.

 

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How Could I Forget This?!?!

4 Nov

Nate went pee-pee on the potty!  Isn’t that crazy?  He can’t even say potty!  We just tried it out of the blue and he did it!  Now, we make it a routine thing every night before bath time.  We aren’t really trying to “train” him yet but we figured it wouldn’t hurt to at least get him used to the idea. We’ll see!

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Growing Up

4 Nov

Beautiful Birthday Girl

Yesterday we drove to Savannah to celebrate Baby Ella’s birthday.  I cannot believe she is 2!  Our other little niece is also growing up too quickly!  Gabbie-Goose (as Andrew loves to call her) will be 3 in just a few weeks!

I wish we could be there to celebrate with Gabbie but we’re just too far away to make the trek.  Going to Savannah for Ella’s still meant we had to brave the Angry-Man-Who-Gets-Really-Peeved-on-Road-Trips (aka Nate) but we knew it wouldn’t be as rough on him (then us) because it’s a much shorter drive.  It was so worth the little bit of anger Nate did scream at us though because Ella was very happy to have Nia there and I know Nia and Nate both had a blast!

Such Sweet Girls

It’s so hard having to watch the kids grow up from afar.  I wish I could be there for them and their mommies and daddies to help them get things ready for parties, to babysit, to watch movies, to play, to hug…WHATEVER!   For now though, I look forward to the special times we get to share and the happy memories we make while we’re together.

LOVE YOU FAMILY!

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A Sample of the Insanity

1 Nov

Here are just a few examples of the listening pleasures I get to be treated to each day – courtesy of the kids.

Nia:  “Nate, look at me. Nate, look at me.  Nate, look at me.  Nate, look at me. Nate, look at me. Nate, look at me.  Naaatttee, looook at meeeee. Nate, look at me Nate.  NAAATTTEEE, look at me!”
Nate: “NO!”
Me: “NIA!  That’s enough!  Obviously, he does not want to look at you right now!”
Nia: “Why?”

Nia: “Momma, if you have green and yellow and green and yellow and green and yellow and green and yellow and green and yellow and blue and green and yellow and green and yellow and green and yellow and green and yellow and green and yellow – does that make a pattern?”
Me: Too exhausted and confused to give a clear answer. (I was trying to cook dinner at the same time.) It came out something like “Huh? Uh-huh.”  I mean, I would really have to see that one written down on paper to know for sure if it made a pattern.  There was no way I was counting up how many green and yellows she said before and after the blue! 

Nate: “NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!”
Me: My reply to this is either – “Whatever dude.”  “I don’t want to hear it.” or “mumble, mumble, mumble, tell me no, mumble, mumble, mumble.”

Nia: “Momma, I’m going to tell you a story.  There was a frog and a balloon and a bug and the bug wanted to eat the balloon and the frog was going to the store and the balloon was at the store and the bug wanted to eat it and the frog got it and then a lion came in and said ‘roar’ and the balloon cried because it was scared and the bug felt bad for the balloon and didn’t want to eat it anymore but the lion did so he said “roar, I’m going to eat you up” and he did.”
Me: I would give a few “oh yeahs?” and “wows” throughout the story a “why did he do that” on occasion.  One time she told a story during the ENTIRE time we were at the grocery store.  That was like a 30 minute story or something.  It was so hard to try to listen to her and make sure I got everything on the list!  (By the way, the above story is not word for word what Nia said – it’s more of an idea of the kinds of stories she will tell me during the day. It may seem awful but I don’t really remember the stories she actually does tell me because that would be nearly IMPOSSIBLE. I mean, she tells me like two or three a day and it’s usually while I’m trying to think about something else.)
 

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